Edelweiss
by WordsOfWarpedWisdom
Summary: Del was adopted into a muggle family and so she doesn't know who her real family are. Then she goes to Hogwarts. And she wishes she didn't know. Plus Sirius Black is EXTREMELY distracting. Marauders era. SiriusxOC
1. Chapter 1

So imagine, for your whole life you think you are normal. You are wrong. You realise your wrongness on your eleventh birthday, when you get a letter, delivered by owl. Yup, that's right. By _owl._

Naturally, my family and I were just a tad freaked out when we noticed an owl, out in the open at 9 in the morning, tapping on our window with its beak. I know, right? Weird.

So, obviously, upon reading the letter from 'Hogwarts' (what kind of name is that for a school?), we were even more confused. Except for Gran-she was just concerned about the scratch marks that the owl may have left on her windows. Uhuh, she's _that _obsessed with cleanliness.

My mum was sure it was a hoax, so she wouldn't have anything to do with it – she laughed, then carried on flipping the bacon. My dad, though, put a bit more thought to it. He was intrigued. So we figured, where's the harm in humouring it?

So, my dad was the one to take me to Diagon Alley. Which was definitely an..._interesting _experience for us both. It finally convinced both of us that the letter was legit. And, let me tell you, shopping with gold is _so _much more fun than shopping with paper!

You should have seen Dad's face though, when I picked up a beech wand with a core of unicorn hair, waved it around, and a bunch of edelweiss appeared out of the end of it. 'Cause, ya know, that's my name; Edelweiss.

Yes, yes, I know, how can I call an owl with a letter on its leg weirdwhen my name is _Edelweiss_. Blame it on the parents. And by 'the parents' I don't the ones I live with, though I _call _them Mum and Dad. I mean my biological, honest-to-God, had-sex-and-conceived-me parents. Who called me Edelweiss. Just 'cause it means courage, nobility and daring. Bitches.

The fact that I'm adopted is obvious when you look at my family. I'm small and blonde with no figure at all, and the rest of my family are quite tall, brunettes and my older sister, Jess, and Mum have _perfect_ curves. Hmph.

So anyway, I get called Del by everyone. And I mean everyone. Even though it attracts a lot of computer technician jokes, it's _definitely _better than Edelweiss, and it's pretty much the only available nickname that sounds slightly sane.

Jess and Mitchell, my cute (most of the time) little 6 year old bro, were very jealous that I got to learn magic, although I'm pretty sure that Jess, who's sixteen, thought it was a bit weird, and didn't really believe me and Dad about the wall moving in Diagon Alley. Mitchie thought it was insanely cool, and wanted me to show him how they did the trick when they saw people in half when I came home at Christmas.

Somehow, I didn't think that's what they'd teach me.

I stood there with my trolley, with an owl sitting on top of it squawking at everyone, staring between the sign for Platform 9 and Platform 10 at King's Cross Station. Huh. No Platform 9 ¾. I started to panic a bit, scared I would miss the train... if there really _was _a train.

I looked around, feeling really alone. My parents had had to take Jess and Mitchie to two different birthday parties so they had dropped my here and wished me luck. They left 15 minutes ago. I looked up at the big clock. It was 10.45. What if I missed it? I didn't have a phone; what if I got kidnapped, what if...?

All the worst case scenarios I was going through in my head faded, as I saw a young boy about my age with messy hair and glasses, watching his father walk forward calmly. I wondered what he was doing- didn't he know there was a stone barrier there?

My gaze wavered as I saw the man speed up more and more, until finally he reached the wall and-

'No!' I shouted, drawing the attention of everyone within five feet of me. I blinked. The man should have stumbled backwards after hitting the wall, and possibly be sitting on his butt about two metres in front of me. But he wasn't. He had simply disappeared. I blinked again.

Maybe I was going crazy... I should've known a magic school was too good to be true.

The boy whose father had just evaporated grinned and beckoned me over. I approached him slowly, not yet completely free of the kidnapping suspicions.

'Hogwarts?' He said, with a lopsided smile.

'Yes, how did you...Ah. Mildred.' I gained a puzzled look for that, and quickly added, 'My owl. What's your called?'

'Wings.' He said. I laughed at his completely unoriginal name. 'Yeah, I know...I've had him since I was 6. I named him then, I thought it was a great name... So you're a muggle born, right? You didn't know about the barrier.'

'Yes indeed, muggle material born and bred!' (I had been called a muggle several times in Diagon Alley until me and Dad had worked out what it means, and tried to stop looking like tourists). 'So how exactly do we get to the train?'

'Well, my ignorant friend,' I huffed a bit at being called ignorant, then realised he called me his friend, and I couldn't really pass up free friends. 'You simply run at the barrier, which will let you straight through, I promise; Pinky Swear. And then, you will be on Platform 9 ¾!'

I laughed a bit at his totally serious use of pinky swear, then my fears took over. 'Are you sure?' I checked.

'Sure as sure can be, my good chap! I would go first, but you'll probably never go if I don't push you-so here goes!' And he literally pushed me through the barrier. Gee, thanks.

I looked around myself in wonder- I wasn't on Platform 9 anymore. Hell, I wasn't even in the muggle world anymore! People appeared and disappeared at random spots all over the platform, and there were several people levitating trunks onto the train. A huge sign above the platform proclaimed that it was, indeed, Platform 9 ¾.

The boy suddenly ran into me, as I hadn't moved since I came through.

'Jeez, woman, move!' He grunted as the wind left him.

'Oops...sorry!' I chortled a bit as he struggled to save his dignity, standing up quickly from where he'd fallen on his backside.

'So, muggley,' I raised my eyebrows at that, but I knew it was just playfulness, 'What's your name? I'm James, James Potter.' He stuck out his hand for me to shake.

'Del.' I shook his hand vigorously.

'Well then, Del, you're very short!' He smirked, and I scowled at him. 'What's your full name?'

No _way _was I telling him my full _first _name! 'Del Morrell.' I smiled at him widely, knowing that he would never know my actual full name.

He raised his eyebrows like he knew that wasn't my full Christian name, but let it go. 'Wanna get on, then?'

'Cool!' I was excited again now, asking James all sorts of questions about the Wizarding World, like 'How come we're even using a train if we're so magical?' and 'Can you do spells? Oh my gosh, it won't matter that I'm muggle born, will it?' He answered my questions as best he could, but looked like he couldn't wait till they were over.

As we were walking up the corridor, looking for a compartment, I said, 'Hey, I'm gonna go find a Ladies Room, I need to pee. Go make some guy friends.' I said, then winked.

'OY! He called after me.

'Ja?' I spun round, losing my balance and crashing into the wall as the train started to move. There goes my pride. Ouch, I think I just crushed my Caramel™ bar in my little travel bag as well (our suitcases got put in the luggage carriage, we just had to put our robes and food in the travel bags).

'Come find me after you're done...peeing. I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!' He yelled. I laughed, and carried on my way.

I peered into all the little rooms as I passed, hoping to catch sight of a mop of unruly black hair. Eventually, I triumphed, and ran into the compartment, only to find that it _wasn't _James, but a gangly, hook-nosed boy with _extremely _greasy hair, who was sitting with a pretty girl with deep red hair.

'Oh, uh, sorry...thought you were my friend... Sorry...' I stuttered.

'Hey, no worries!' Said the red-head, 'I'm Lily Evans, nice to meet you,' and she smiled at me. Man, I wished I looked like her...

'Del Morrell,' I said, 'You too,' I smiled tentatively back.

'This is my friend Severus Snape, by the way,' Lily said, pulling her friend up by the hand.

'Err, hi,' he said, seeming every bit as shy as I was. Well, this had certainly been awkward enough for one meeting.

'I'd better go find my friend then, I guess,' I mumbled. I wasn't really good at talking to girls.

'Ok, cool! It was nice to meet you then Del, maybe we'll be in the same house?' I nodded, although I had no idea what she meant, and heard the Severus guy mutter, 'Slytherin.' Hm. Strange dude. I waved goodbye, and started off down the corridor again.

**Hope you liked it! **

**Review...if you want :D **


	2. Chapter 2

I found James eventually, sitting with another boy with black hair, except this one didn't have glasses, and he looked _extremely _moody. He was playing himself at Wizard Chess. I smiled at James through the window to the compartment, and made a gesture asking if I could come in.

He nodded and grinned. I slid open the door as quietly as possible, trying not to annoy the angry boy. I sat down next to James and whispered,

'Who's your friend?'

The guy's head snapped up and he glared at me. I shrank back in my seat.

'Firstly, you don't need to know my name, so I won't tell you it, and secondly, this guy here is _not _my friend. He just happens to have decided to sit there and annoy me.'

I glanced at James, and saw that his feelings weren't hurt, before laughing and saying,

'Wow, James, do you have this effect on _everyone_?' The moody boy looked slightly amused before going back to his chess game.

'So, boy-whose-name-I-don't-need-to-know, who's winning?' I asked, just to annoy the guy. I didn't like unfriendly people. The corner of his mouth turned up.

'I am,' he answered, and moved his knight halfway across the board.

'Well, I think you should tell you off for cheating; you can't make that move with a knight.' Annoyance flashed across his face.

'Did I ask for your opinion?'

'Well, I don't think so...' I turned to James, 'Did you hear him ask my opinion?'

'No, I'm afraid I didn't,' he declared, with a twinkle in his eye.

'Then, no-name, I don't think you _can _have asked me for my opinion!' I exclaimed, in the most annoying voice I could muster.

'Haha. You are simply hilarious. Please, tell another joke.' The boy said in a monotone.

'Well, if you insist! Knock kno-'

'I didn't mean it, jeez! What do you want from me?' He practically shouted. Wow, touchy.

'Well, firstly, what's your name?' I asked, the curiosity overcoming me.

'Sirius Black. Will you shut up now?'

'Well then, hi Sirius, I'm Del Morrell and this is James Potter.' I said perkily, holding my hand out to shake. He ignored it.

'Yeah, I know _his _name, he already introduced himself.' Sirius growled. I giggled, and he turned to me. 'Is Del your real name?'

'Depends on your definition of real?' I said, phrasing it as a question.

'Well what is it then?' He said, seeming less hostile by the second.

'Nothing...' I looked for an escape which came in the unlikely form of the girl and boy I met earlier.

'Oh, hey Lily, um...Snivellus?' I said, smiling as they sat down.

'It's Severus.' Severus snapped. Lily frowned at him then smiled at me.

'Is it ok if we sit here? We just got kicked out of our compartment by sixth years.' She asked, a bit shyly.

'Sure it is!' James jumped in. From the look on his face, he agreed with me that Lily was very pretty. Sirius and I looked at his face, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. James jumped, and stopped staring at Lily.

'What?' He said, looking confused. Lily and Severus had started their own discussion, so we carried on doing impressions of James' face and laughing, until we heard the word 'Slytherin' in their conversation.

I didn't even know what it meant, but obviously it was quite important to the other two.

'Who wants to be in Slytherin? James scoffed to Sirius and I. 'I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?'

Sirius looked uncomfortable. 'My whole family have been in Slytherin.

James looked surprised. 'Bloody hell, and I thought you were ok!'

Sirius grinned. 'Maybe I'll be different,' he said nonchalantly. 'Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?' I still did not have the faintest idea what they were talking about.

Immediately, James lifted an invisible sword and put his other hand on his chest. 'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad.'

Severus glanced at Lily, and rolled his eyes, making a small noise of disbelief. Lily giggled a bit.

'Got a problem with that?' James said, seeming overly aggressive as he saw how close Lily and Severus were.

'No,' the greasy boy sneered. 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –'

Sirius cut in, he looked angry with Severus. 'Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?'

James laughed and Lily got up, blushing, but like she was angry, not embarrassed. 'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' she said, glaring at James and Sirius, who watched as she grabbed her bag and marched out of the compartment. Snape flapped after her, his robes catching as he went.

He bent down to unhook them, calling, 'Lily, wait!' Sirius pushed him over as he untangled the hem of his robe from the seat, and Severus stumbled out of the compartment, glaring as he went.

'See ya, Snivellus!' Sirius called loudly, and slammed the door.

James roared with laughter. 'That was brilliant,' he told Sirius, almost in tears. 'Good one, Del; Snivellus...' I frowned, not wanting to take responsibility for that.

'That was an accident, James, and it's not funny to be cruel to people like that!' I said, and glared at the both of them. Neither of them paid any attention to me, and high-fived as they kept chuckling.

Well, at least James had made a male friend.

**I know that's probably not right in relation to what it says in the book but I couldn't be bothered to **_**find**_** the book, and it's probably close enough, so yeah **

**REVIEEEEEW **


	3. Chapter 3

'So what's all this about Slythabin and Grifdoor?' I asked curiously, when I got back from changing in the bathroom. I sat there obediently while the two boys filled me in on the houses and how they worked, and pretty much everything else they knew about the school, too.

By the time we slowed down and arrived at Hogsmeade, I was pretty sure I was the most knowledgeable of all the muggle born first years.

We were instructed by a _huge _man to get into boats with no more than four to a boat. We were lagging behind the group slightly so the three of us arrived at the lake to find that there were no empty boats or ones with one person in.

I shoved Sirius and James (as much as you can shove when you're a good five inches shorter than the shovee) towards a boat that was holding a small mousy boy and a tall sandy-haired boy who looked like he got on the wrong side of one of those electronic bull rides. They got in, trying not to tip the boat, and I looked around for a space.

There was one in a boat with Lily, Severus, and a girl with brown hair that I didn't know, but that definitely had the potential to be very awkward...

I craned my head to see the far away boats, looking for another option, when I was lifted up by massive hands under my armpits, and plonked in Lily's boat. I blinked with surprise. Yep, definitely awkward.

I turned around and glared at Hagrid, who winked at me and yelled 'A'righ', cas' off!', before getting in his own, relatively tiny, boat.

I hoped it didn't disintegrate out from underneath him.

I turned back around as our boats started moving on their own. Lily and the other girl were chatting about something, and the Snape dude was staring at Lily, with a rapturous expression on his face. Wow, he really _is _creepy!

'I'd shut my mouth if I were you, before a fly does something bad in it.' I advised him, then leaned forward and joined in the girls' conversation.

All the first years stood, gaping, at the entrance hall. It was so grand! This was more like a fairy tale castle than a boarding school! I said as much to Alice, as I'd learned the brunette was called, who giggled and agreed.

James sauntered over to us, and draped his arm over me.

'Yo, Morrell, make some friends?' I rolled my eyes, knowing this was an excuse to talk to Lily.

'Well, yes, actually, this is Alice Prewett.' I introduced the two and smiled angelically at James who looked annoyed and rolled his eyes. 'Gonna introduce me to _your _friends?'

'Sure,' James said, 'OY! Guys!' He yelled, over the heads of most of the year. He really was quite tall. His friends turned. 'Come over here!' By this time he had most of the students staring at him.

The three boys he had been yelling at walked over. One of them swaggered, one walked purposefully, like he valued every step, and the last one crept, not liking the attention.

'You already know Sirius, and these are Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.' Peter was the tiny one, and Remus was the beat-up one. I wondered where he got his scratches... 'And guys, this is Del Morrell.' We all exchanged smiles and nods, but before we could speak, we heard a harsh voice with a Scottish accent, cutting through the hubbub.

'Follow me, you will be sorted now.' I was nervous, though I didn't know why. I mean, it wasn't a test or anything, was it?

'James?' I tapped his shoulder, the nearest part of him to me. Damn his height. He looked down at me.

'Yes, little Del?' He replied, smirking. I smacked him on the arm, then became serious.

'How do we get sorted? It's not, like, a test is it? 'Cause I can't do any spells, and I'm a muggle born, and-'

'Sshh, it's not a test.' James said, and hugged me. I hugged him back, then said,

'How do you know?' I mumbled.

'Because, little Del, all you have to do is put on a hat. It sees inside your head and knows where you should be put.' I gasped; I had been worrying about being sorted ever since Sirius and James had told me about it!

'ARE YOU SERIOUS?' I yelled. This was so not fair, I can't believe they didn't tell me this!

'Actually, no, I am,' interjected Sirius. I snorted, then carried on.

'You just, _conveniently _forgot to mention that! I've been worrying...' I said, pouting. Sirius laughed at me, and I smacked him, lightly. Then the Scottish woman started reading out names.

I watched Sirius go up to the stool when it got to the Bs and the hat stayed on his head for _ages_. Eventually, it made up its mind, and yelled out 'GRYFFINDOR!' Sirius' entire face lit up, and he practically skipped over to the red-decorated table. A few of the Slytherin's faces looked thunderous. I wouldn't like to get on _their _bad side!

It got down to Es and I watched Snape's face fall as Lily got sorted into Gryffindor. Hm, well, maybe it will do them both good. Lily shot a little apologetic glance toward her friend as she sat down.

All too soon, it was my turn. I was nervous, but I wanted it over already. I dragged my feet on my way to the stool. I sat down cautiously, and placed the hat on my head, almost afraid. Whatever it shouted would say a lot about my character...

As soon as I put the hat on, the second it touched my head, it yelled 'GRYFFINDOR!' I pranced over to that table and plonked myself next to Lily, who was opposite Sirius. I grinned widely at them both.

Next person I knew to get sorted was James. He walked up to the stool, very confidently, and sat straight down.

The hat shouted out 'GRYFFINDOR,' almost as quickly as it had shouted mine, and I watched as James made his way over to our table with what can only be described as strut. Lily's mouth moved a fractional amount, and I could've sworn she said the word 'Prat,' under her breath.

Alice was sorted into Gryffindor, at which Lily and I cheered wildly, then finally, the last person (Hector Zyskowski) was sorted into Hufflepuff, and the feast began. Yum.

**I think I'm gonna skip to 5****th**** year, because thats where everything interesting happens. :D**

**I'll have pictures of what the three girls and maybe the boyslook like on my profile. **

**Toodles :D**

**Review **


	4. Chapter 4

**Changed my mind, skipped to 6****th**** year :D**

Five years on, I do not know _how _I didn't work out that Sirius Black was one to stay away from. I guess I was innocent and naive back then, and I had no idea that anyone could be that annoying. Now I know better.

But to make myself feel better, I tell myself that the only thing that _was _predictable from the first day was James and Lily. Since James was my first friend, and Lily was my second, I think it would be awesome if they got together. So does James. Lily does not.

He asks her out at least once a day, and way more than that when something big like a dance or a Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. It's quite amusing to listen/watch all the different ways James comes up with to ask Lily out, and all the ways that Lily comes up with the reject James. I honestly think that when they are alone, they spend _all _their free time thinking up new and creative ways to entertain us.

My favourite was last week when James got inside one of the suits of armour and stood, motionless, in the charms corridor until Lily came out of her lesson. Then he grabbed her.

'Let me go!' Was the inevitable demand.

'Not until you go out with me.' Was the inevitable reply.

'Potter!' And a slap, were the inevitable reaction. But I think she's wearing down. No really, I do.

But enough about _their _trainwreck relationship, let's move onto _mine_. Sirius Orion Black. I hate him. And I know that girls are normally all "Oh, I do hate that incredibly fit guy who I argue with all the time! Oh, look! I'm in love with him! Oh, look! He's in love with me too! Yay, now we can be clichéd together!" But it's totally not like that. Really. It's _actually _not like that.

I hate his little smirk and the way he flips his hair out of his eyes, because he thinks that he can make you swoon just by smiling. Ugh. _And_ he's a man-slut. I mean, I'm not a nun, I've had boyfriends, but he has a new girl on his arm _literally _every week. At least.

And Sirius I'm-so-gorgeous Black finds it fun to torment me. Which is not very enjoyable for me. So I retaliate, then _he _retaliates. Let me tell you, it ain't pretty. Our friends even have a daily tally chart of who gets the last word. I think I'm winning at the moment...

The start of term feast was, as usual, awesome – there was no other word for it. I could have sworn I could hear the table complaining about the weight, but to be honest that wouldn't be that strange around here.

Lily, Alice and I ate until we thought we would explode, and James and Sirius ate so much that people were actually edging away from them, just in case.

'So,' I said, turning to Alice, 'Time to place bets on how long it is 'til Lily gives into James, me thinks.' I could see Lily glaring at me out of the corner of my eye, but I looked expectantly at Alice.

'Ah, you're right!' She exclaimed, excitable as ever. 'I'm putting a galleon on her cracking by Easter.' She looked at Lily, 'You know you want to.' Lily looked outraged.

'No, I flipping well don't!' She ranted. 'He's immature, arrogant, he hexes people for the fun of it, he doesn't like Severus for absolutely _no_ reason-" But she was cut off by the arrival of the very boy she was speaking of.

'Ah, that's where you're wrong, my Lily flower. I _do_ have a reason.' James said, with a smile that was almost smug.

'Oh really?' Lily said, disbelievingly, 'Care to share?'

'No, not really.' He said casually, reaching across to nick a chip from my plate. "How's you, Muggley?' He'd called me that since the first day of school. Gr.

'Not bad, poncey, not bad.' I replied, nodding. 'Where's the rest of your posse?'

'Right here!' I groaned. 'I knew you missed us over the holiday!' My arch nemesis said, in an extremely camp voice, squeezing in between Alice and I on the bench. He put his arm around me, and whispered in my ear, 'Give us a hello kiss?' I shuddered, not wanting to be in that close contact with Black.

'Ew!' I yelled, shrugging out from under his arm. 'Get off me!' He laughed, then planted a big soggy kiss on my cheek.

'Knew ya loved me!' He called as he skipped away, winking over his shoulder at me. I didn't see any of that though as I was trying to get Black saliva/germs off my cheek.

'Ew, ew, ew! Does anyone have any hand sanitizer? This is disgusting! Eeew!' I said desperately. Dis. Gus. Ting. James was laughing at me.

'You know, when Lily and I are married,' this got him a look of shock and revulsion from Lily, 'And you and Sirius are married,' and the same from me, 'We're going to re-enact this moment and laugh.' I stared at him.

'You honestly think that I would let Black come near me with a ten-foot pole, let alone _marry_ him?' I asked, appalled. _Everyone _knew we hated each other. James tapped his nose knowingly, and sauntered off. Lily and I both stared after him in disbelief.

'He thinks I'm going to marry _Black_?'

'He thinks I'm going to marry _him_?' We said at the same time, then laughed, high-fived and went back to eating. Alice was shaking her head.

'You girls need to find a nice, stable relationship with someone you love and trust. Like I have with Frank...' And then she was gone, staring into the distance. She'd been going out with Frank Longbottom since about third year. It was quite adorable, really.

'Meh, I'm sixteen. Plenty of time for that later. Right now, I wanna party hard, get hammered, and make out with random guys!' I whooped, not realising Dumbledore had stood up for his speech so everyone had gone quiet. Everyone in the Great Hall was gawping at me, even the teachers, who were supposed to be, you know, discreet about staring.

'Yes, erm, thank you for that, Miss Morrell.' Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. I could see the Marauders laughing at me, a few spaces down the table. 'Now onto a few school rules that Mr Filch has asked me to go over.' And I stopped listening at that point. I never really stuck to rules, they were a bit boring. Well, a lot boring.

On the way up to the common room after the feast, Alice suddenly said to me, 'You know, you never placed your bet on how long Lily's going to last this year.' Lily rolled her eyes, and walked a bit faster to catch up with Dorcas Meadows and Mary MacDonald, the other girls we shared a dorm with.

'I'm gonna go for...' I thought about it a bit, 'She's gonna say yes just after the Summer holidays, next year.' Alice laughed.

'No way, she'll surrender way before then! But hey, you wanna give me your money, that's fine by me!'

**Yo, hope ya like it **


	5. Chapter 5

**Lala, thank you for everyone who put this on story alert and stuff, but some review would be nice ;)**

3 weeks into the term, and we were already snowed under with work. Who knew that NEWTs would be this hard? Well, we did, because everyone had told us about it, but the reality was a _major _shock. I couldn't concentrate on the Charms essay I was doing on bubble-head charms, because the window was so distracting.

The view from Gryffindor tower covered the entire grounds, and was pretty at the worst times. Now, with the sun slowly disappearing into a flood of orange and pink, and mist blanketing the foreground, it was truly magnificent. I'd have given anything to be out there right then, on my broomstick.

I'd discovered in fourth year that I could fly quite well, but I hadn't plucked up the courage to try out for the team yet. Mainly because James and Sirius were both on the team – Sirius was a beater and James was Captain and Keeper – so if I flew badly, or even flew well but didn't make the team, I wouldn't hear the end of it for weeks.

I was jolted out of my reverie by the sight of a thestral flying high over the Forbidden Forest. I'd got a nasty shock in Care of Magical Creatures last year when we covered thestrals, and I realised I must have watched someone die. Thing is, I had no idea who, when or how.

I was adopted by my parents when I was six. I don't remember anything about my life before that, except for sometimes random memories in dreams, and nobody else knows anything either. I was found outside an orphanage when I was six, asleep in a small cardboard box with a note that said:

_Her name is Edleweiss – for courage, nobility and daring. Look after her well._

Yeah, I know right - cute. They must have loved me and blah, as my parents said when they told me I was adopted when I was ten. But I've been to loads of councellors and crap, and they all said the same thing. If I couldn't remember my life before adoption, then it must have been traumatic, and my sub consciousness must have blocked it out.

Of course, since entering the wizarding world, I've realised that it could have been a memory charm. Well, either that or my childhood was messed up. And considering the thestral thing, I'm going for a mixture of both at the moment – memory charms fade over time, and the trauma-blocking-out-your-memories was often only partial; my memory block was full and had so far survived 10 years.

Anyway, my charms essay was _not _progressing. So I gave up. I swivelled in my chair, looking around the common room for Lily or Alice. Seeing no sign of them anywhere, I sighed and gathered up my things, looking forward to an early night and lots of R&R. Maybe a facemask and a classic book...

Unfortunately this dream was punctured nastily by Sirius Black skipping across the room towards me, an innocent smile on his face. With Black, innocent was never good.

'Moooorreeeell!' He sing-songed, sounding unusually cheerful. Oh God. Something bad was coming. 'I have some good news for you!' Yes, good. I'm sure. I looked up at Black, and rolled my eyes.

'Good news. Really.' I said, my tone heavy with sarcasm. 'And what would that be, Black?' The boy looked like he was about to explode from smugness.

'Dumbledore wants to see you! You are in trooouuuble!' I was surprised. He actually had a reason to be smug! But why did Dumbledore want to see me? I hadn't done anything wrong... well, nothing that I had got caught for anyway... So what was this about? 'Trying to work out what you did wrong?' Black asked gleefully. 'Yeah, I was too – then I realised I don't really care! As long as you get something absolutely disgusting for punishment, that is.' Then he winked and skipped off again.

Man, I _had _to work out how he still managed to look incredibly masculine while he was prancing through the common room, his shoulder-length hair bouncing about all over the place. Maybe then I could exploit it... Or sell it...

I sighed again, grabbed my bag and made my way out of the portrait hole, my mind leaping between selling masculinity, and what I could possibly have done to warrant a summons from the Big D.

**Sorry it's so short... hopefully the next one will be longer :P**

**Lalala, thank you for reading! Please review :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**BIG REVELATION! Look out ;)**

I looked around, trying to figure out where Dumbledore's office was. I had never had to visit it before, so I only knew the corridor that it was in, because that was common knowledge. I was getting desperate, thinking that whatever Dumbledore was angry about, I'm sure that being late would not endear me to him.

I whirled around as I heard someone approach, feeling paranoid in my nervousness. I mentally groaned as I saw Black coming casually up the passage. Not the help that I was hoping for.

'Oh, hi Morrell, what are you doing here? Didn't Dumbledore want to see you?' Black asked, sounding genuinely surprised, and slightly kinder than usual. 'I wouldn't keep him waiting, if I were you.' He said, with a wink. Ah, _that _was the Black I knew.

'Um, _ja_,' I said, like it was obvious. 'But I don't know where it is, do I? I haven't been caught for as much rule-breaking as you, remember?' I asked, with an air of superiority. Black snorted.

'Yeah, you break _so _many rules, don't you, Morrell?' He smirked. Oh, how much he didn't know... I laughed.

'Not that _you_know about, no. But yes, I do, Black.' He still looked unbelieving. 'You know that time that Rudolphus Lestrange's head turned into a turnip, and nobody could transfigure it back 'til they got an expert in from St. Mungo's? That was me – he perved on Lily.'

I couldn't help the smug smile spreading across my face when Black gaped. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm _trying _to find Dumbledore's office.

And I turned on my heel and walked in the opposite direction.

'Um, Morrell?' I turned. 'It's behind that gargoyle.' Black was pointing behind him. 'Password's "Fizzing Whizzbee".' I tried to recover what dignity I had left as I walked past him with my head held high.

'Thanks, Black.' I muttered, reluctantly. I didn't want it to seem like I didn't hate him, after all. Because I did. A lot.

I stood in front of the door to Dumbledore's office, chewing my lip anxiously. Should I knock? Should I just go in? Should I announce my presence before entering? Turns out, I didn't need to do any of these.

'Come in, Miss Morrell.' Came a kind voice from inside the room. Maybe the rumours about Dumbledore's psychic-ness were true...

I turned the door-knob and stepped inside. The room was quite small and cosy, and round. There was a phoenix on a stand near Dumbledore's desk, and I could see the light of a pensive glowing gently behind a screen to my left.

What interested me most, however, were the instruments dotted around, cluttering every surface, and filling the room with a hubbub of chimes, bangs and pings.

'Please, Miss Morrell, do take a seat.' The headmaster said, gesturing to a chair sitting just in front of his desk. I ambled over to him, unable to keep my eyes from the fascinating sights surrounding me. I plopped down in my chair, finding it much comfier than it looked.

_Man, _people can make some _great _chairs, I thought. Or maybe it just had a cushioning charm on it. Either way, I never wanted to get up.

'I dare say you are wondering why you are here?' Dumbledore asked, peering at me over his glasses that I've always thought were insanely cool.

I actually thought about asking him to put me down for them in his will last year, but then I realized that there was a 99% probability that they were promised to someone else.

Damn his cool glasses.

'Well...yeah. I was.' I said, not seeing any point in lying. He _was _psychic, after all. 'I'm not in trouble, am I?' I asked worriedly. I hadn't had a detention yet, and I wanted to keep it that way. Especially after what I'd just told Black, he'd love it if my perfect record was perfect no more. Non-perfectamondo, if you will. Wow - great word! You wouldn't believe I just made that up on the spot, would you?

'No, no, Miss Morrell, I just needed to have a little talk with you about something that has been on my mind.' I gulped. If it had been on _Dumbledore_'s mind, it must be serious. 'I've heard you were adopted when you were six, is that correct?' He asked politely.

'Yes, sir. I don't know who my real parents are.' I replied, wondering where this was going.

'Well, I think I may be able to patch you're knowledge. I've read all your files, and I've been doing some research.' I was flattered.

Why was Dumbledore spending so much time on finding my birth parents? _I _didn't even care, why did he?

'You're mother was a woman called Jane Harper. She was a muggle, and she died a year before you were adopted. I am still unclear about who was looking after you after she died, but I am close to finding out, I think.' I blinked. Wow.

'My mum... my real mum's dead?' I said, confused.

'Yes, I'm sorry, Miss Morrell. If it helps, she wouldn't have felt a thing.' Eh?

'How did she die then, if she didn't feel anything?' I asked, confused. Dumbledore looked very uncomfortable.

'Well... the muggle exam couldn't discover anything. She seemed to be in perfect health, apart from the fact that she was dead. So that probably means...'

'Avada Kedavra. She was murdered.' I finished, the words sounding heavy on my tongue. My birth mother was _murdered_? Why?

'Why?' I said, hollowly. 'Why was she killed?' Dumbledore looked me straight in the eyes, and said evenly:

'I don't know. But I am doing my best to find out.' I nodded mutely, and took that as my cue to go. I stood up, and nodded again to my headmaster, knowing that, since he was psychic, he would know that I was thanking him inside my head. He would know that my mouth had gone dry, so I couldn't say anything.

'Just one more thing.' Dumbledore said, as I reached for the door handle. 'I think it would be better if you didn't tell anyone this. I'll explain it all when I discover more about the story.' I nodded, yet again, and left.

My head was spinning. I thought my mum had probably been some kind of hippie witch who got too high on whatever drugs they have in the wizarding world, and had got herself pregnant, but was now a normal woman with a normal family, trying to make up for the mistake that was me. I even remembered being thankful that I didn't look like one of those crack babies you see on TV when I went home in the holidays.

But my mum _had _wanted me.

**Oooh, emotions 0.o Scary! Ok, so there **_**wasn't **_**a revelation, sorry about that. Next chapter, pinky swear **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for reading thus far! Teehee, thus. ^.^ Yeah, so. Enjoy.**

'Come ooon, what's the matter?' Lily and Alice were trying to get me to tell them why I was upset, by jumping on my bed. At 6 in the morning. With me _in _the bed.

'Get off! I need my beauty sleep to look as good as you two!' I said tiredly. They both rolled their eyes and carried on.

'We, fulfilling our roles as best friends, command you to tell us why you are acting strangely since you went to see Dumbledore! Or suffer the consequences...' Threatened Alice, jumping dangerously close to my head.

'Piss off.' I mumbled. I swear, Lily has superhumanly good hearing. She told Alice in a very indignant tone what I had just said. They got off my bed and had a two-person team huddle about what to do about it. I was just settling back into my dream where I made Chaser on the Quidditch team, then won the House Cup for my team when I was rudely awakened.

By being flipped onto the floor and having cold water poured on my head. A _lovely _way to wake up on a Saturday morning.

'What the hell?' I screeched, getting up off the soggy ground. 'You should have seen Black's face when I scored a double hat-trick!' Lily and Alice, being used to this kind of talk from me, grabbed an arm each and sat me down on my own bed. How humiliating!

'If you do not tell us what is wrong then we will hurt you.' Said Lily, seriously. I had always wondered about her dark side...

'Oh, it was just that Dumbledore told me something shocking.' I said flippantly, then expertly changed the subject. 'Don't you think the weather looks good today!'

'Nice try at changing the subject, there.' Alice said. Maybe not as expertly as I thought, then. 'But you can't pull the wool over our eyes!' She exclaimed.

'You know, I never understood that expression.' I mused. 'What wool?' Alice nodded, forgetting about interrogating me.

'I know, right? And why would you pull it over someone's eyes? Is it a balaclava or what?' She said.

'Exactly!' I agreed, warming up to the subject.

'Shut up!' Lily yelled. 'Alice, we're meant to be interrogating her here!' Alice looked a down sheepishly.

'Yes, Lily. Sorry, Lily. '

'Now, _Del_. If that _is _your real name.' Lily started. 'What shocking news did Dumbledore tell you?' I shivered, actually feeling scared of my best friend.

'Please! Have mercy!' I shouted, getting into the melodramatic mood. 'He told me not to tell you! I would if I could!'

My two best friends exchanged a meaningful look and reluctantly gave in.

'Fine. But you owe us.' Alice said sulkily. I rolled my eyes.

'I will buy you both a 2 knut bloodsicle on the next Hogsmeade trip. Happy?' I said playfully. They ungraciously accepted and I smiled and collapsed back onto my bed. 'Night, then!' I said happily.

I woke up again about 3 hours later to an empty room. The other 4 must have gone down to breakfast already. I sighed, and slowly got dressed, still not completely awake.

I reached the Great Hall ten minutes later, and plonked down next to Alice.

'Sup, ma homeys?' I asked, leaning over to grab a bit of bacon. The bacon in Hogwarts was the best bacon I had ever and _would _ever taste. Mmm...

'Yeah...' Replied Lily, reading the _Daily Prophet_. She never really listened to my interesting and diverse greetings. It hurt me inside, really.

'Init!' Exclaimed Alice, doing our handshake with me. Alice definitely made up for any enthusiasm lacking in my other friends.

'Anyone we know in the paper?' I asked, trying to start a conversation. Lily grunted, obviously not interested. And yet, she still managed to sound lady-like. I could see why James was in love with her, I really could.

Suddenly, Lily's face paled.

'Wha...what did you say your brother's name was, Del?' She asked, her voice shaking.

'Mitchell, Mitchie, the Mitchmeister, the Mitchenator. He answers to any of them, really. Why?'

'You'd better take a look at this.' Lily said, her hand trembling as she handed the paper across the table to me.

_**WEREWOLF TERROR**_

_Fenrir Greyback, well known follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, arrived in St. Albans, a small town near to London, late last night. He broke into 24 Plumber's Lane, and graffitied across the ceiling with spray cans "MUDBLOODS ARE SCUM". We believe he then searched the house, and attacked the only person who was there – an 11 year old boy by the name of Mitchell Morrell. Mitchell was savaged horribly, and unfortunately did not make it through the night. He was dead before he even reached St. Mungo's, as his body was not found until his family came home several hours later. We are unsure why this attack occurred, but we believe that Mitchell was the younger brother of a muggle-born witch attending Hogwarts, and that is why he was attacked. Why this witch was targeted specifically by Death Eaters, we do not know. For the rest of the story, go to page 15. _

I looked up from the paper, tears in my eyes.

'Oh, Del...' Alice said; she had been reading over my shoulder.

'No. No, he can't be dead. It's a mistake! Mitchie... my baby brother!' I screamed, then broke down sobbing in Alice's arms. Lily looked at me worriedly across the table.

I felt something land next to me, and looked up to see an owl standing with its leg out expectantly, with a letter for me tied to him.

I reached out and untied the string. The owl immediately took off, like he didn't want to be there to see me open the note.

I unfolded the message with difficulty, as the folds were still soggy with what looked like tear marks. I managed it, and started reading; it was from Jess.

_I don't know whether you heard, but Mitchie's been attacked by some kind of monster. You should meet up, and be monsters together. It's your fault he's dead. If you weren't such a fucking freak, then Mitchie would be fine. You never really were a part of this family, you know. Sure, we acted like it, but you never really belonged. And then you just had to go and tear our _real _family apart. And the worst part? Mitchie _loved _you. He practically fucking idolised you. And you just threw that back in his face. You better not come back here ever again or I will personally rip your fucking heart out. You're not wanted here. So stay away._

_Jess, your former sister._

_P.s. Mum and Dad are looking into the legal way to properly disown you. They told me not to tell you, but I figure you might as well now. You're welcome!_

I stared at the letter, not blinking. Not moving; not even breathing.

Everything that she'd said was true. And that knowledge, that I'd caused my baby brother's death, was like a knife in my ribcage. I felt like I was outside myself, staring at the person who'd killed Mitchie.

Mitchie, my favourite person in the whole world. Who'd laughed with me when we made a cake forJess' birthday, and somehow managed to get mixture on the ceiling. Who'd kicked me in the face and knocked out my last two baby teeth when I was tickling him. Who'd always been there for me, no matter what.

And I'd killed him.

'Read it.' I said hoarsely, thrusting the letter at my friends. I got up, and without looking back, I walked away. Calls of my name chased me out of the Great Hall, but I knew what I had to do.

I started gathering speed, running up stairs and through corridors, ignoring those who called my name, and those who I ran into. I ducked and weaved through crowds, all heading towards their first lesson. I wasn't.

**DundunDUN! No,that wasn't the revelation. It still hasn't come. I'm sorry. But soon! :D Sorry about killing off Mitchie, but hey **** SOMEONE had to die :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**I think Sirius might be nice in this one. Or maybe not. Teehee XD**

Finally, I reached the Astronomy Tower. It was the tallest tower of the castle, and the fall from it would be enough to kill any man. Or sixteen-year-old girl.

I took pigeon steps right up to the edge of the tower, and climbed up onto the window sill. I turned my face up, into the rain, and enjoyed the sensation of the water-droplets running down my face.

A glance down made me feel nauseous, but that only made me laugh. Nausea? Soon I wouldn't be feeling anything at all. I revelled in the knowledge that soon I would be with Mitchie. I could apologise.

I bent my knees, saying my mental goodbyes to everyone and everything I knew, hoping that nobody would judge my actions too harshly. Then again, what did I care? I'd be dead.

Suddenly, somebody grabbed me around the waist from behind. I was too shocked to do anything about this, not even register it in my mind, until my 'rescuer' turned me round I saw who it was.

'Bla-' I started to say, but before I could even get his name out, he slapped me hard across the face. I gaped.

'What the fuck do you think you're doing, Black?' I asked, struggling against his grip, leaning towards the window.

'ME?' He shouted incredulously. I had never seen him so angry, and it scared me. 'What do _you_ think _you're _doing?'

'I, you bastard, am jumping out of that window!' I yelled right back. Why was it _his _business whether I committed suicide or not? 'It's not like _you_ care if I die anyway!'

The look in Black's eyes became, if possible, _more_ furious.

'You want to commit suicide?' He asked, his voice calm. I took that as a bad sign. I nodded, unable to say anything. I was in such close proximity to such a fuming man that I feared for my life. And _I _wanted to kill me.

'You know what that is?' Black asked, livid. I shook my head. 'Selfish.' He said. And I snapped. I kneed him in the balls, and took two steps back, towards the window.

'NO, BLACK.' I screamed, holding back tears. I would _not _cry in front of Black. 'WHAT'S SELFISH IS ME BEING ALIVE WHEN MY BABY BROTHER IS NOW DEAD BECAUSE OF _ME_. _THAT _IS SELFISH. DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR BROTHER'S DEATH? DO YOU?' I couldn't control myself. I took a deep breath, and stepped towards the window again. It would all be over soon.

'Tell everyone that you couldn't stop me, that I cursed you.' I said over my shoulder. I swung my leg up, onto the stone sill. 'Goodbye, Black. I guess you got the last laugh after all.'

'Please.' Came a voice from behind me. 'Please. It hurts now, yes, but soon you will come to terms with this.' I looked around to see Black attempting to stand up, grimacing in pain. I couldn't hold back a small smile. 'Listen, I know how it feels to be a traitor to your family.' I shook my head.

'No.' I insisted. 'My baby brother... my fault. I have to make up for it.' And I turned back towards my death.

'He wouldn't have wanted you to do this. He would have wanted you to live life for him, experience things for him. Isn't that what you'd've wanted if it was reversed?' Black asked, his voice gentle.

And suddenly, I just couldn't hold it in. I stumbled over to Black, tears blurring my vision, and he held him arms out for me.

'Sshh,' He said comfortingly, rocking me slowly.

'It was... m-my fault...it said m-mudbloods...scum...my f-fault...' I mumbled, sobbing into Black's robes. I didn't even care that it was Black that I was crying on, I just needed to get the feelings out.

'And...Jess said...d-don't want me back...I'm a m-monster... my fault...w-werewolf...' I carried on, completely soaking Black's chest. I felt him stiffen when I said the last word, but I had no more space in my head for anything other than guilt, grief and sorrow.

'Sshh, let it all out.' Black muttered into my hair, rubbing circles into my back as he hummed gentle lullabies.

We stayed in that position – Black hugging me with his face in my hair and my head on his chest for what seemed like several hours. Finally, when I'd run out of tears, he took hold of my shoulders, stepped back, and said,

'Better?' I wiped my eyes and smiled.

'Not quite,' I sniffed, 'I don't think I ever really will be.'

'I know the feeling.' He muttered. I suddenly realised that I was in the Astronomy Tower with Sirius Black, a position many girls at this school would love to be in. _Not _including me, because I hated him.

'I don't owe you _anything _for this.' I suddenly scowled at him, and left, leaving him looking after me, extremely puzzled.

I couldn't believe I had been so _stupid_. Saved from suicide by _Sirius Black_? _That _was worth suicide, just on its own! He would never let me forget this. And I was prepared to bet that he would tell everyone exactly how much of a mess I was.

Mitchie...

I slipped into class 20 minutes late, and took a seat at the back. I felt like everyone was staring at me, but when I looked up, everyone was facing the front, absorbed in the lesson about animagi.

I saw the Marauders at the front, exchanged secret smiles, and amused glances every now and then. I hoped to God that their little in-joke wasn't about me. Not that I was so self-absorbed that I thought it probably was, but my emotional stability wasn't really up to snuff at that moment; I found myself looking around in a paranoid way, wondering if the whispering cluster s lining the corridors were discussing me, or the marriage of Celestina Warbeck to Dan Tiernan, leader of the band _The Thestrals_.

_Man _I needed to get out more.

**Blabla, death, mourning, Sirius, rumours XD**

**Review...if you want .**


	9. Chapter 9

**I LOVE ANNABELLA BLACK AND THE PIXIE-LIKE VAMPIRE! You are literally my favourite people ;) **

In the next few weeks, I was slowly returning to my normal self, much to the relief of Lily and Alice. I still ran out of the room in tears whenever someone mentioned Mitchie, or I saw/heard/smelt/felt/tasted something that reminded me of him. But I was improving.

I knew I would never forgive myself - or Fenrir Greyback - for what happened, but I was coming to terms with it.

I was on my way down to lunch with Alice and Lily, laughing at a joke Alice had just told, when it happened. Yes, _it_.

As we passed the threshold to the great hall, I suddenly felt really cold. I looked down, and was shocked to find that all my clothes except my underwear had suddenly disappeared. I looked to my left and saw that Lily and Alice were in exactly the same situation.

Everyone in the hall was staring, mainly at Lily, but we were too angry to care. We were scanning the room, looking for the perpetrators. Oh yes, we knew who they were. The Marauders should have been _very _scared.

But, predictably enough, they weren't. We turned around as we heard their voices making their way down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. Laughing. While we were half-naked.

Judging by the look on Lily's face, she was just as furious as me. Alice, however, looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She made a squeaky sound, and ran past the Marauders, no doubt heading for the dorm, clothes, and Frank.

Lily and I stalked up to the Marauders. I was too angry to speak, but I knew Lily would make up for that.

'Think this is _funny_, do you?' Lily shouted, practically nose-to-nose with James. '_This _is why I won't go out with you! You're immature, you're a player, you're a pervert, and you have ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR PEOPLE'S FEELINGS!' I was glaring at James and Black, too, although mostly Black. Anyone could tell it was mostly his idea.

Peter didn't have the nerve to do it, and Remus was too considerate to even think of this. I could just imagine the scene now –

'_Hey, Prongs, I have a great idea for a prank to play on the girls!' Black's imaginary face was lit up with glee as he told James his plan. Remus looked disgusted that Black would even consider doing this, and Peter was cowering even at the idea of Lily and I's reactions. _

'_I'm not so sure...' James would say, then Black would win him over by the thought of Lily in her underwear. And of course, the only thing Black would get out of it would be another great prank pulled off, eternal glory for stripping Lily Evans, and a favour to his best mate. Oh, and humiliating me, of course. _

I growled, and Peter let out a small shriek. James seemed to be unable to speak, or look away from Lily, and Remus' eyes seemed to be glued to the floor, him being too ashamed to even look at us.

Only Black was smirking, looking me straight in the eyes, and no doubt doing a celebratory dance in his head. He. Made. Me. Sick.

'You make me sick, you know that, Black?' I snapped, reaching for my wand – only to find it had disappeared along with my robes.

'And you me, Morrell.' Black replied, as though we were just having a pleasant conversation on a lawn somewhere, with a pot of tea between us. 'Nice bra.' He said, grinning.

'Fuck off.' I said loudly, and stormed upstairs, Lily following behind me, trying to cover her butt from James looking.

'We _have _to get them back!' I exclaimed, pacing around our dorm. We were all now fully clothed, and had made a joint decision to not be embarrassed or ashamed by what had happened – we didn't want to give the douches the satisfaction.

'We need to outprank them... give them a taste of their own medicine!' I ranted, still marching back and forth. I felt like a general in the army, or one of those weird American teachers you see in films, giving a pep rally.

I sat down on my bed and stroked my chin, deep in thought. Then I had a brainwave – the idea of a prank from a film I'd seen at a friend's house before I came here. I looked up at Lily, and smiled an evil smile.

The next morning we awoke from our peaceful and anticipatory sleep to a loud, shrill (but _still _manly! How did he do it?) shriek. I turned over, exchanged a knowing grin with Lily in the bed next to me, and went back to sleep.

However, I didn't get much rest. 10 minutes later an absolutely furious Black and James stormed into our dorm, covered in honey and feathers. I gaped at them:

'How the hell did you get up the stairs?' I demanded, embarrassed about being seen in my shabby nightclothes.

'HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN OUR DORM TO DO THIS TO US? WE HAVE A BLOODY PASSWORD FOR A REASON, YOU KNOW!' Black roared, gesturing furiously at his head, where his hair was stringy from the honey, and had fragments of feather stuck in it. They had obviously tried to clean up as best they could – not much.

James looked at me, slightly hurt.

'I thought we were friends, Del! How do you think we felt when we woke up on the _floor_, covered in this shit?' I giggled to myself, recounting the second part of our plan – we levitated all of the duo's beds and furniture outside, and put them down on the Quidditch pitch. Of course, they wouldn't find out where they were until practice... ah, revenge is satisfying.

'Hey, don't blame me! I only wanted to do it to Black, but Lily was adamant!' I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. James turned to Lily, his expression softening, and tried the puppy-dog eyes. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. Black interrupted their moment, though.

'Of course she didn't think about what we felt like,' he said, sneering. 'Morrell never thinks about anyone apart from herself... didn't you know? She's a self-absorbed, selfish -'

'Careful, Black, you're heritage's showing!' I warned.

'THAT'S IT, YOU BITCH! YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE BUT YOURSELF, DO YOU? YOU JUST DON'T CARE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANY OF US, AND YOU DON'T CARE ENOUGH TO FIND OUT! REMUS HAS ENOUGH TO GO THROUGH WITHOUT HAVING TO HELP US CLEAR UP OUR ROOM AND CONJURE MORE FURNITURE-'

'WELL MAYBE IF YOU ACTUALLY TOOK SOME RESPONSIBILITY AND DID SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF INSTEAD OF CHASING GIRLS AROUND ALL DAY, HE WOULDN'T NEED TO CLEAR UP AFTER YOU!' I screamed back. The floodgates were opening, and all the years of reasons to hate him came pouring out. 'WE ONLY PRANKED YOUBECAUSE YOU PRANKED US FIRST – SO DON'T GO PUTTING THIS ALL ON US!' Black scowled at me.

'You know what I think, Morrell? I think you're just so insecure that you _have _to lash out at other people. I think, inside your _I hate the world _persona, you're a cowering little child, afraid of what everyone else thinks of you.' And he spat in my face. I wiped it off, appalled.

'Get. The fuck. OUT!' I yelled, glaring daggers at both of the boys. My expression must have been pretty scary, seeing as even though they were both almost a foot taller than me, they turned and left our room. I slammed the door after them, and round at the rest of our dorm-mates.

'So,' I said, putting on a fake smile. 'Wanna get some breakfast?'

**AAH! Drama :P So I hope youlike it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I've taken out the rape bit, cuz I thought it was over dramatic. Sorry! I hope you like it better though, it's less like a soap now ;)**

**Thanks to FastTyper, your review actually made meLOL ;) Thank you to matthealovegood, I'm glad I'm entertaining you :P Thanks to everyone who review and story alerted and the such, YOU ROCK! **

I spent 3 days without looking or talking to Black at all. He had totally over-reacted, and there was no way I was saying anything to him unless he apologised. Remus had all but got down on his knees, asking me to give Black a chance, but I wouldn't. Why should I? Let him make the effort.

On Tuesday James approached me at breakfast. I could tell he was nervous, and that was probably the reason he hadn't spoken to me before. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself, though, now he was here. He was standing behind Lily and I, twisting his fingers together. Finally I couldn't take it any more.

'For God's sake, James, sit down!' I said exasperatedly, and he did so, smiling hopefully. I carried on before he could start talking and make an arse out of himself. 'No, I'm not mad at you, I still want to be friends. I'm just worried about your taste in friends though...' I smiled. 'Not Remus though, he's lovelyjubly. I hope you're not angry at me?' I said optimistically, looking up at James.

'Woah...' He said, blinking. 'How did you know what I was going to say?' I tapped my nose knowingly, and he stuck out his tongue. 'And of course I want to be friends with you, muggley! It's way too much fun teasing you about your height to even _consider _ditching you!' He said,and winked.

'Yes, yes, Potter, thank you! You can leave now.' Lily said, from behind her morning paper. I rolled my eyes at James and he reluctantly swung his legs back over the bench.

'Bye Muggley, Alice, Lilyflower.' Lily growled at that last one, so he took it as his cue to leave.

'Pleeease, Del!' I shook my head. 'Please, just talk to him! You don't have to apologise! Look , I'm begging. I am actually on my knees on the dirty floor- UGH!' I turned round to see what had made Remus react like that. He was using his sleeve to frantically wipe at some dark, sticky substance that had attached itself to his trouser leg.

'Look! Just look at this! This is _your _fault!' He said, staring at his robes sleeve, which was now also stained. Then he looked up, a mischievous expression on his face.

'Del, you _have _to now, you owe me.' He said, grinning evilly. Sometimes I got genuinely scared of Remus.

'NEVER!' I yelled, running down the corridor away from him.

'COME BACK HERE! YOU COWARD!' He shouted, and set off ater me. Unfortunately, me being a girl, I couldn't run as fast as him. He caught me as I was turning the corner, and started tickling me mercilessly. I sank to the floor, giggling uncontrollably.

'I will be victorious!' Remus exclaimed loudly, still tickling me. I was regretting telling him in second year that I was ridiculously ticklish. Everywhere.

'Well, well, well.' Came a voice from above us. I knew that voice. I disliked that voice immensely. 'What have we here?' Remus stopped tickling me, and I stood up quickly, gathering my dignity.

'Oh, a squealing mudblood, no less.' I rolled my eyes, and got out my wand, just in case.

'Heya, Malfoy.' The blonde guy took a step closer to me, and pulled out his wand.

'You know, I'm sure I could make you squeal louder, if you gave me the chance.' He whispered. He kept walking towards me, so I kept stepping back. Suddenly I hit the wall behind me, and Malfoy took his chance and grabbed my wand. He had me cornered. Behind Malfoy, I saw Remus reach for his wand, looking angry, but the Malfoy pointed his wand behind him lazily and said, 'Petrificus Totalus.'

I gasped, seeing Remus fall backwards with a crash. 'Remus!' I cried, but Malfoy poked his wand forward so it was right in front of my face.

'Don't worry about _him_, little mudblood, I think you should worry about yourself...' And he made a quick slashing movement with his wand. And gash appeared across my cheek, bleeding copiously. He dipped his finger in my blood and licked it. 'As I thought... your blood is dirty.'

I spat in his face. He grabbed my neck, and pushed me up against the wall. I was struggling to breathe, and I was pretty sure my face was slowly getting redder and redder.

'If you wanted to exchange spit with me, you should just ask, little mudblood.' He said, in a low voice. I think he was trying to sound sexy... it didn't work. He was moving his face closer and closer to mine, while still holding me in a strangle grip. I felt dizzy, and hoped I wouldn't pass out.

I kneed Malfoy in the balls as hard as I could, and he collapsed, clutching his...area. I grabbed my wand out of his hand, and quickly performed the counter-curse on Remus. I helped him up, as his back was sore from the fall.

'Are you ok?' I asked worriedly. His face was grey, and his eyes looked furious. He performed a quick charm, and I felt the wound on my cheek start to heal.

'Me?' He asked, incredulously. 'Are you kidding? Are _you_ ok?' I smiled. Remus was always so selfless.

'Yeah, fine, it's just little cut.' I replied, and hugged Remus tightly.

'Wow, Morrell. And I thought you couldn't sink any lower...' Came a lazy, arrogant voice. My blood boiled just at the sound of it. 'But to find out that you've been leading both James _and _Remus on? You must have a thing for Marauders. Who is it next, Peter? You'll have to start looking for a Y-shaped coffin, Morrell.' I turned to face him, ready for another shouting match, but Remus intervened.

'Lay off, Sirius. What's your problem?' He asked tiredly, rubbing his back. 'Can't you see she's obviously hurt?' He said, gesturing at my cheek. Black's eyes widened as he noticed my gash for the first time. Remus glanced significantly at Malfoy, who was still on the floor, wheezing in pain.

'Erm...what happened?' Black asked, sounding confused for the first time since first year, when we first had DADA and he'd realised that we didn't have to actually _learn _the Dark Arts. Remus explained quickly, and when he got to the bit about me...um..._injuring _Malfoy, he actually laughed.

When Remus had finished, he looked down at Malfoy with a disgusted look on his face, and kicked him. Hard. In the gut.

'Scum.' He muttered, as the blonde boy curled up in a ball, coughing. There was an awkward silence for a moment, before I decided to break it.

'So...' I said, looking around uncomfortably.

'I gotta go.' Remus said suddenly, and turned and walked off without giving us a chance to say anything.

'That was odd.' I muttered, and Black smirked.

'I think that was his oh-so-subtle attempt to get us to talk.' I looked up at him to see him watching me with a weird look in his eyes.

'Ya know...I think we should call a truce. Just to get everyone of our backs.' I said quickly, without taking a breath. Black just stared at me, looking bemused.

'So...I just put that out there...gonna say anything?' I prompted, feeling a bit stupid.

'Yeah. Ok. Truce.' He said, and held out his hand. I shook it. 'Sorry about calling you a slut...and over-reacting...and the prank.' He said, looking at the floor. I couldn't help it – I laughed.

'Hey!' He said, looking up. 'I'm trying to be serious here! You're ruining it!' Black crossed his arms childishly andpouted.

'You already are Sirius!' I gasped, my laughing out of control. 'You don't need to try!' Black laughed too, a loud, booming sound. I stopped laughing suddenly.

'What?' Black asked self-consciously. 'Why do girls have such sudden mood swings?' He whined.

'Sorry,' I replied, staring at him. 'I haven't heard you laugh in ages... You have a nice laugh.' I finished, looking at the floor again. Black started laughing again.

'Thanks?' He said, when he'd finished.

'Welcome!' I replied, smiling widely. Bad idea- I re-opened the cut on my cheek, which had been quickly healing after Remus' charm. 'Ow...' I muttered, trying to remember what Remus' charm had been.

'Here.' Black said, and did a non-verbal spell. My cheek felt really warm, then really cold. I brought my fingers up and touched the affected area. There was nothing there – it was perfectly smooth.

'Wow, thanks!' I said, rubbing my cheek. There was another awkward silence.

'Well...I guess I'll be going then...' I said, stepping backwards.

'Yeah...' Black agreed, doing the same.

'Bye, Black.' I said, and waved. I turned and headed down the corridor, already thinking about what Flitwick would say if I told him I'd been waylayed by an evil spectre.

'Goodbye, Del.' I heard behind me, but when I turned to look, there was no one there but Malfoy, who didn't look like he was getting up any time soon. I shook my head, and went back to thinking of valid excuses for being late.


	11. Chapter 11

**Teehee so after that, how am I going to carry on so well, right? Ha, just kidding ^.^**

Now that Black and I had a truce going, even _I _had to admit that life was a lot easier. All 8 of us could hang out together, and the only arguments that occurred were between James and Lily. Those hardly even counted as arguments, they were mainly Lily shouting at James for staring at her, then going back to reading, and James apologising then going back to staring at her.

We (the Marauders + Frank, Alice, Lily and I) were sitting around the fireplace, laughing and joking. I was playing Exploding Snap with Sirius (it was quite unnatural how quickly we had reverted back to the stages that both our friendship and maturity had been at in 2nd year), Lily and Remus were both sitting up straight in different armchairs, reading, James was staring at Lily, Alice was sitting on Frank's lap, giggling about something, and Peter was desperately practicing the spell to turn vinegar to water. (He wasn't progressing. At all.)

'DAMNIT!' I yelled, getting up suddenly and knocking over the snap game.

'Hahaaaaa!' Sang Sirius, jumping up as well, and sticking his tongue out at me. I folded my arms.

'You barely won.' I sulked.

'Aww, is ickle baby Del upset?' Sirius mocked, pouting. BUT STILL LOOKING MASCULINE.

'YES! AND HOW DO YOU DO THAT?'

'What?' Sirius looked completely confused at my outburst.

'Look masculine all the time!' I replied, fake-angrily. Sirius smirked, the expression that used the drive me around the bend. Now I found it oddly...endearing? Sirius took a step towards me, stepping over the overturned table.

'Are you saying you find me attractive?' He asked, turning on the expression that he knew had the same effect as roses and chocolates on most girls - but not me. I raised one eyebrow.

'Um, Sirius? Masculinity and attractiveness are completely different things...' Sirius took another two steps towards me, so he was right in front of me.

'So you don't deny it, then?' He asked, leaning forwards until his face was inches from mine. I scrambled backwards, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't really used to being in a close vicinity with hot guys. WOAH. HOT? SIRIUS?

'Um...' I said, feeling embarrassed. _Nice, you acted like a total retard_. I thought to myself. Sirius looked put-out for a minute then recovered quickly.

'I'm that repulsive, huh?' He asked playfully.

'Pretty much!' I laughed, then felt everyone's eyes on us. That must have looked pretty darn strange... 'Anyone hungry?' I asked suddenly, trying to distract everyone.

'ME!' Yelled Sirius, shooting his hand up in the air, and looking like a little kid who'd just been told that Christmas was on the 25th of _every _month. Yes, I made some weird metaphors in my head. Or was that a simile...?

'Let's go to the kitchen!' I yelled back, desperate to get out of the limelight. I rushed out of the portrait hole, and heard Sirius follow me. As much as I didn't want to be alone with him after what had just happened (can you say _awkward_?), I'd rather be alone with him than with our faces inches apart with about ten people watching us.

'What was that about?' Sirius asked, as soon as we were out of the portrait hole.

'Meh, nothing.' I replied. _I just didn't want to be in close contact with you, I might not be able to stop myself kissing you_. Who was this evil voice in my head, spouting untruths?

'Okay.' Sirius shrugged, and we carried on our merry way.

'I was thinking...' I started, as Sirius and I returned from the kitchens, our arms full of food.

'Oh, I was wondering what that clanking noise was earlier!' Sirius exclaimed, around a mouthful of pumpkin pie. I mock-glared at him, then carried on.

'I was thinking that we should get James and Lily together.' I finished triumphantly.

'Wha...? Repeat.' Sirius said.

'I...think...we...should...get...James...and...Lily...together.' I said, like I was talking to an idiot. Well, I _was_.

'YES!' He said, doing a little victory dance and dropping all the food. I sighed. 'You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that!' I laughed.

'About... 30 seconds, since I said it the first time?' He looked sheepish.

'Well, yes. But great idea! Only...how? She hates him.' I shook my head, feeling sneaky and genius-y at the same time.

'Ah, my dear Mr. Black, that is where you are wrong! She doesn't hate him... she _thinks _she does. But Alice and I know her better than she knows herself, and we are agreed on this. She loves him, deep down. So we need to get a submarine with a hook on it, and drag her feeling to the top of her mind!'

Again with my weird metaphors! _I needed to stop._

'Sub...what?' I sighed. I'd forgotten that Sirius was pureblood.

'Basically, we need to make her realise that she loves him.' Sirius' expression changed from mystified to enlightened in the space of about half a second, then changed back again.

'How?' I grinned.

'This is the good bit.'

We started picking up the dropped eatables as I explained my (ingenious) plan. By the time we reached the portrait hole again, we were both beaming with the happiness that you can only feel when you know you're about to fiddle in your best friend's life.

**So...like? Hate? REVIEW!**

**Any ideas on what the ingenious plan should be? Cuz mine's pretty abysmal...so any better suggestions are welcomed! :D Also, do people like the character's faces? Why don't you review and tell me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I would just like to say, I LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE Animagus Sugar Glider, who I just realised has reviewed FOUR times! Go you! Also thank you to Jenna Linda and ggbennett for reviewing! Ggbennett, I will put your idea in this, it's pretty darn awesome!**

**Also, I've changed my penname, obviously, to WordsOfWarpedWisdom. Cuz it's cooler ;)**

All the way down to breakfast the next morning, I was grinning like a maniac. Alice and Lily were quite worried that someone (Sirius) had ambushed me and put a Cheering Charm on me just for the giggles, but after I scowled for a bit just to show I could, they left me alone.

'Holy Shizzle...' Whispered Alice, never one to swear.

We had reached the Great Hall, and every surface was covered in lilies. The only clear space was the floor – even the benches were adorned with flowers. Lily looked around wildly, searching for James so that she could prove it was him. I smirked.

'Wow, Lil, I wonder who this was?' I said, making my tone sound way too over-surprised. Bit of a mistake, there.

'Yeah, right, Del, you know it was Potter. Any second now, he's going to stand up on a table, announce to the world that he is responsible for this, proclaim his love for me, then ask me out.' Lily scowled, looking mortified, even though no-one was looking at her.

We made our way over to our normal seats at the Gryffindor table, Lily trying to hide her face as much as possible. I plonked myself down on the bench, squishing several flowers in the process, and Alice followed suit. Lily looked horrified.

'You can't do that! You just destroyed some perfectly good flowers!' I shrugged, helping myself to bacon.

'I thought you didn't want them?' Lily spluttered, looking outraged.

'I don't!' She stammered.

'Well then, we can sit on them, can't we?' Alice piped up, and we exchanged evil grins. Lily looked disgruntled, but sat down next to us.

'OMNOMNOM!' I yelled, heaping as much food as I could on my plate. Lily looked faintly disgusted.

'How do you eat so much but keep your figure?' She asked, incredulously. I shrugged.

'M'I dun'kno!' I choked out ; I'd just taking a big bite of scrambled eggs.

'Ugh, muggley! Nobody ever teach you table manners?' James sat down next to me with Sirius opposite him and the other two on their other sides. I shook my head vigorously, still chomping.

'I'm hungry!' I protested, as soon as my pipeways were clear. Everyone laughed (at me), except for Lily, who was looking at James with a particularly unfriendly expression.

'So, Potter. When's your big announcement going to be?' She asked sarcastically. Sirius caught my eye and grinned. I stuffed a piece of sausage in my mouth to stop myself from laughing.

'Oh, yeah!' James exclaimed, completely unaware of what she meant. 'Thanks for reminding me!' He jumped up onto the table, ending the lives of several lilies on the way. 'Sonorous!' He said, pointing his wand at his throat. His next words boomed out across the hall – everyone turned to look. Lily buried her face in her hands.

'I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYONE IN HERE KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL TO ME!' I looked at Lily. She didn't look like she was surfacing any time soon. 'GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TRY-OUTS ARE TOMORROW AT 11 ON THE QUIDDITCH PITCH. ANYONE WHO WANTS TO HAVE A GO, PLEASE BE THERE 10 MINUTES EARLY. THANKS, HAVE A NICE BREAKFAST!'

James jumped down from the table, and quickly muttered the reverse spell for his voice. Lily was staring at him, flabbergasted. He looked back, confused.

'What?' He asked self-consciously. 'Do I have something on my face or something?' He questioned, taking off his glasses to rub at his face.

'Why is she staring?' He asked the table at general. Sirius and I were too busy sniggering into our hands to say anything, but Remus quickly obliged.

'You didn't ask her out, mate. She's surprised.' Comprehension dawned on James' face.

'I've given that up now, Lily. I'll leave you in peace.' James said. I could've sworn I saw Sirius's mouth moving at exactly the same time, like he'd told him what to say. I shook my head – _boys. _Lily's mouth just opened wider.

'...Is she ok?' James muttered to me out of the side of his mouth. I couldn't hold it in any more – I burst out laughing. Everyone turned to me, trading _Has she finally cracked? _looks, which just made me laugh harder. Sirius took one look at my face, which I'm guessing looked something like a constipated camel, and joined me.

I was laughing so much that I fell off the bench, squashing some random bypasser's foot. I stopped abruptly as the person kicked me, hard. I looked up to see Bellatrix Lestrange looking down at me as if I was some kind of shit on her shoe.

I got up, ignoring her, and sat back down. With great dignity, might I add.

'Sorry about that.' I said, in a very sophisticated voice, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

'Haha... Lily's face!' Sirius gasped, not having noticed the exchange between myself and his charming cousin.

I spat my juice out. In his face.

Everyone in our little group suddenly fell silent, looking between the two of us. I covered my mouth with my hands.

'I'm sorry!' I said, trying not to laugh as Sirius wiped the juice from his eyes, 'You shouldn't have made me laugh!' He spluttered, looking indignant.

'So it's _my _fault, now?'

'Of course!' I replied, and smiled a super-sweet smile at him. He didn't look impressed.

'So, Dellywelly, are you finally going to try out for the team this year?' Alice asked. I got the feeling she was trying to change the subject.

'What?' Sirius and Jams both turned to stare at me. I blushed a little red, but answered anyway.

'Not sure... I haven't decided yet.'

'You play Quidditch?' James asked, looking like he might die from excitement. I nodded, exchanging a look with Alice.

'Are you good?' Sirius said eagerly.

'Erm... I'm alright.' I answered, weirded out.

'Don't be modest!' Alice jumped in. ' She's amazing!' She told the boys. 'Isn't she Lily?'

Everyone turned to look at Lily, but she seemed to be frozen in her position by shock. She was still staring at James, her eyes wide, as if she was seeing him for the first time.

'Erm... Lily?' Alice asked, waving a hand in front of the red-head's face. Lily jerked out of her...trance thingy.

'What? Yes?' She said, looking at Alice.

'I was just asking your confirmation on how good Del is at Quidditch.' Alice said. She looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing at the way Lily's eyes kept flicking back to James.

'Oh yeah!' Lily agreed, smiling. 'Del's amazing! She just didn't want to try out for the team before because she thought you guys would laugh at her.' She carried on, directing the last bit at the two boys. I blushed and ducked my head.

'But she has the perfect physique for a seeker!' James exclaimed, turning to Sirius. Sirius nodded animatedly and replied.

'Yeah! And after Higgins left last year, we need a new one!'

'Hm, but his will be hard boots to fill...'

'Yeah, that's true, he only lost the snitch four times over three years.'

'But Alice and Lily say she's amazing!'

They both turned to me, and said simultaeneously:

'You should try out!' I rolled my eyes at their sillyness.

'Yeah, whatever.'

**Okay, so I know that was not incredibly interesting. I'm terribly sorry. **_**But, **_**if you review, I'll try to make the next one super-incredibly-exciting!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok, re-done. Sorry it was cut off mid-sentence before, but it is now recitified. Enjoy! **

I sighed as I pulled on my Quidditch gloves. I was about to try out for the team, something I had _successfully _been avoiding for years. I must actually be insane.

'Hurry uuuppp!' Alice whine, bouncing on the balls of her feet. As soon as she and Frank got married (it's inevitable, admit it), I would buying her a puppy to drain her energy. A Chihuahua or something as equally annoying and bouncy. Mwahahaha! 'What?' Alice said, confused.

'Oh...was that out loud?' I replied guiltily. 'My bad...' Alice rolled her eyes and dragged both me and Lily out from the entrance hall into the blinding sunlight. Okay, it wasn't blinding, it was October, but compared to inside it was quite bright.

'Bye Del!' Lily called, as her and Alice abandoned me to sit in the stalls. 'Good luck!'

I heard a deep chuckle, and gave Sirius evils as I caught his eye. He grinned broadly at me and I ducked my head, staring at the deep green of the Quidditch pitch grass. I was one of about fifteen people who had turned up for the tryouts for Seeker and Chaser.

From my let came some giggles, and I turned to see two girls in my class making eyes and blowing kisses at Sirius. They were both dressed in _very _short skirts and low-cut tops, and I rolled my eyes.

'Oh hi, Jessie, Amanda! What positions are you trying out for?' I called to them in a stupidly cheerful voice.

'Um...' Jessie replied, tossing her bleached blonde hair over her shoulder. 'Sirius is a beater, right?' I nodded. 'Then I guess I'm trying out for the other beater!' She smiled, and Amanda nodded her head vigorously.

'That position isn't open, these tryouts are for a seeker and chaser.' I informed them, and watched as their faces fell. I always wondered how their faces didn't _literally _fall off, seeing as they both wore about a tonne of make-up. 'But don't worry, I'm sure Sirius would love to see you up there on a broomstick anyway!' I assured them, laughing on the inside.

Hey, it was the truth. I'm pretty sure Sirius would _love _to see them on broomsticks, whether for a good laugh or a good perv was up to him.

'Okay!' James suddenly yelled, interrupting my conversation with the two bimbos. 'Gather round!' We all shuffled about two inches closer to him, then listened expectantly. He rolled his eyes, but carried on. 'Divide into five teams of three. When I tell you, do a lap around the pitch!'

Making sure we can all fly, James? I thought. Then I remembered Jessie and Amanda, and changed my mind. Maybe this _was _a good idea. Those two were now strutting towards me, their heels (_heels_? For a Quidditch tryout?) sinking into the muddy ground.

'Del!' I shuddered at the fake niceness in her voice. 'Want to be in a group with us?' Amanda asked silkily. I looked at her, surprised she would even ask. Then I realised they would make me look good. Yes, it's true, Del Morrell can be sneaky and manipulative just as much as the next girl. It's just bitchiness – I don't like bitchiness.

'Sure!' I replied, smiling brightly.

When it came to our turn to do a lap, I mounted my broom and kicked off immediately. I shot around the pitch, coming to land only to realise that both Jessie and Amanda were still on the ground. Amanda was apparently trying to work out which bit of the broom she should sit on, while Jessie hadn't even touched hers, and was giggling and waving at Sirius.

I snorted.

'Right, um...thanks for that guys.' James said, seemingly at a loss for what to say to the two blondes.

It took another few minutes for James to watch the last group do a lap, by which time the stalls had filled up quite a bit. Both James and Sirius had a lot of admirers, _mostly _girls, and while only Jessie, Amanda, and two girls from _Hufflepuff_ had been brave/stupid enough to actually try out, lots of people had turned up to watch.

'Ok!' James roared over the hubbub coming from the crowd. 'Not bad!' We've narrowed it down to six applicants!' I laced and unlaced my fingers nervously as he went through the names of the so-far-successful players.

'And finally, Del Morrell!' I glared at James, sure that he'd said my name last on purpose, but he only gazed innocently back.

'If everyone else could leave the pitch, we'll finish off the tryouts!' James finished, and Jessie and Amanda turned and left dejectedly. 'Seekers over her, chasers over there!' He yelled, pointing. I trudged over to his right along with a fourth year girl, and a seventh year boy who I'd never noticed before, but who was _very _good looking. I smiled at him, and he grinned back.

The three of us watched as James conducted the chaser tryouts, and clapped when he appointed Joe Peterson, a fifth year boy who worked well with James and Rose (the other chaser) and blatantly the best shooter. Finally it was our turn.

I stepped forward with the other two seeker hopefuls, my heart racing. I gulped as I looked around and saw just how many people were now watching. My anxiety turned to laughter as I noticed Lily and Alice in the crowd, waving scarves and looking like complete idiots. I gave them a thumbs-up as they leaned over the side of the stalls, chanting my name.

Sirius followed my gaze, and snorted when he spotted my two best friends. James heard him, and turned to tell him off, but then he realised who Sirius was looking at, and I think he got a little distracted. As in, drool was coming out of his mouth.

Sirius caught my eye and grinned. I tried my hardest not to laugh at the expression on James' face, but I was fighting a losing battle. My face was bright red by the time James was jerked out of his trance by the seventh year next to me clearing his throat loudly.

'Right...yes.' He said, sounding a tad confused. 'Um... I'll bewitch ten golf balls each to fly around like a snitch, and you...um...catch them.' I exchanged a quick amused glance with Sirius. It seemed James was getting Lily withdrawal symptoms from not asking our fiery-haired friend out enough.

First up was the fourth year girl. I was pretty sure her name was Lucy, but she didn't look like a Lucy, so I spent the first few seconds of her tryout trying to figure out what her name actually _was_, and missed the fact that she'd caught three out of four.

However, when I started watching, I noticed that she was really rather good. I bit my lip nervously as I watched, and breathed a sigh of relief when she finished and she'd only caught seven out of ten. Then I kicked myself – seven's pretty good.

The seventh year boy was called next, and now I was sure that James was doing this to me on purpose. Stupid smug little...

'Good luck,' I muttered as the guy mounted his broom. He smiled at me in return, then kicked off. He. Was. Awesome. I watched in a mixture of disappointment and admiration as he caught every one. Damn, now I had no chance.

As the guy landed back on the ground he flashed me a smile. I returned it, somewhat reluctantly.

'All right! Good job, uh...Matt?' James clapped him on the back, and Sirius did that thing that guys do when they bump shoulders. I think that's meant to be manly... and somehow, Sirius managed. Matt kind of did. Although, I had to admit, while didn't look that _masculine_, he still looked pretty good!

'Good luck following that up, muggley!' James said, as Matt traipsed off to sit on the bench in front of the stands. I rolled my eyes at him, and kicked off. As I felt the wind rushing through my hair and my robes rushing behind me, I smiled. My nerves were gone – this is where I belonged.

The first golf ball took me by surprise, whizzing straight past me. I had to chase after it, but eventually caught it, about three feet off the ground. I ignored Sirius' snickers, and rose back up, glaring at James. The next nine balls were by no means easier, but somehow (don't ask me how, I have no idea) I managed to get every one.

I landed back on the ground and stuck my tongue out at James and Sirius, who were both staring at me like I'd grown another head.

'Well done, Del!' Matt said, smiling brilliantly at me.

'Er...thanks. You too.' I replied, feeling somewhat dazed by his smile.

'Ok, results will be up on the common room notice board tomorrow! Well done everyone!' James yelled. He seemed to have recovered quite quickly, while Sirius was still gaping at me.

'Might wanna shut your mouth, Black. Before a fly does something nasty in it.' I said as I brushed past him. Teehee.

I trudged toward the entrance hall, contemplating a long, hot bath, before I was suddenly rugby-tackled from behind. I didn't even have to look to know who it was.

'Alice! Get off me, you fatty!' I screeched, trying to fling the laughing girl off of my back. Lily looked on in amusement, like a mother would indulge her kids.

'YOU WERE SO GOOD, DEL! WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU! LILY LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS ABOUT TO CRY, YOU WERE SO GOOD!' Alice carried on in a whisper. 'Although I think that's just because she's imagining that any child she had with Potter would have the same combination of good looks and awesome Quidditch abilities that you have.' She winked conspiritorally at me, while I rolled my eyes. Good looks? Er, yeah, ok.

'What did you say, Alice?' Lily asked in a playfully dangerous tone of voice.

'Erm, nothing!' Alice squeaked, and took off towards the castle, closely followed by Lily. I laughed – my friends are awesome.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am a poo. I hate myself. I should update more often, and I'm sorry. But life has been crazy, and... yeah. But there's no excuse. I'll try to be better!**

I hardly got any sleep that night. I was tossing and turning, wondering who James would chose. I mean, Matt was a seventh year, it was his last year to try out – maybe James would want to give him a chance? Plus he was very good looking, he would probably bring more female fans to the game... not that we needed more female fans – James and Sirius were more than good enough for that purpose.

I groaned. There really was no point in trying to sleep. I got out of bed and headed toward the window sill, where we kept a jug of water. It was a very pretty night – a full moon was just rising and the whole world was bathed in a ghostly silver light.

I could appreciate the beauty in a detached, that-would-make-a-pretty-picture kind of way, but full moons no longer held magic and delight for me. All I could think about was how many people were transforming into werewolves right now, how many children would soon be sought out for prey .

Were Jess and my parents looking up at the moon too, cursing it? Cursing magic? Cursing _me_? I shook my head – this was _not _helpful . I went back to bed, reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood to distract me.

When I woke up the next morning, I could tell instinctively that I looked absolutely terrible. Maybe it's a girl's gift? Anyway, it's pretty useful. I took a quick shower and brushed my hair before heading down to the common room, ready to wait all day to see the team sheet, if necessary.

I didn't see why the new Chaser had been announced immediately, but I had to wait to see the team sheet to know who the Seeker was. When I'd asked James about it, he's said something about how the Seeker decision was harder, seeing as me and Matt had drawn with our scores. Bullshit.

If you ask me (which no-one ever does), he's trying to draw it out longer to mess with my mind. Why did I decide to befriend him on that first day in the station, again? Oh yeah, because I didn't know how to get through the barrier... I guess putting up with him is better than never having come to Hogwarts at all. Marginally.

I crept down to the common room, making the stairs creak (sometimes I wished the stairs turned into a slide for girls too – a fun and silent way of getting down). I was the first in the common room, which was hardly surprising seeing as it was 7.30 on a Sunday morning. You'd have to be crazy to get up this early... or OBSSESSED WITH FINDING OUT THE QUIDDITCH TEAM, GODAMMIT JAMES.

So anyway, I sat in the common, literally twiddling my thumbs. And let me tell you, it's harder than you'd think it is. My thumbs kept getting caught together in an extremely frustrating way. Ugh. I stopped twiddling and started humming. Then I got up and practiced bubble-head charms (this week's homework), and _then _I skipped around the common room – all in an attempt to keep myself entertained while I waited for James to come downstairs with the team sheet.

Finally, when I couldn't think of anything else to do, I sat down again, staring into the fire that always seemed to be lit. Once I'd come down here at 2.30 in the morning (Alice had left and woken me up so I, being a worried friend, followed her only to find she was meeting Frank to do something I _really _didn't want to be witness to), and the fire was _still _blazing away merrily, exactly like it is in the day time. I guess that's the beauty of magic!

I checked my awesome wizard watch that James had bought me for my birthday. (It had _stars _on it!) It was still only 7.50, and James had said the team sheet would be up at 8.

'I hate James.' I said moodily, prodding a chair with my wand.

'Yeah, me too.' A voice behind me said, scaring me half to death. I spun round, breathing hard and expecting Voldemort, only to see that Matt was standing there, looking sleep-deprived and crumpled, but still mighty fine.

'Woah, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.' Matt said, taking a seat in the armchair next to me (the one I'd been prodding). Well he would have, except he leapt back up as soon as his (lovely) butt touch the chair. 'OUCH! Did you put a stinging charm on this? Jeez, if you didn't want me to sit here, you could have just said!' He said, winking at the end.

I gasped, mortified. 'Sorry! I guess I did it by accident... _Bad _wand.' Matt chuckled, did the counter curse and sat down.

'So...waiting for team sheet, right?' He asked, putting his feet up on a foot rest in front of him.

'Meh... yeah. Look, it's already 7.56! It should be here!' I whined, jiggling my fingers like I always did when I was nervous.

'Hey, relax.' Matt said, taking my hand. I think I stopped breathing. 'You know James, he'll probably magic it down here at exactly 8.' I nodded. That was true.

Matt let go of my hand, and it suddenly felt cold and small. 'Yeah, he's a bozo like that. So how d'you know James?' I asked, trying to start a normal conversation.

'Well, we live quite near each other, so we see each other in the holidays. Well, not last holidays, since Sirius Black was staying at his place all summer... but yeah.'

'Huh? Why was Sirius staying at James'?' I asked, confused. Matt looked surprised that I didn't know. Hmph. No one ever tells me stuff.

'He ran away from home last summer, didn't you know? He had nowhere to go, so the Potter's took him in. Apparently he's like their second son.' I pondered this. This bit of news was changing my opinions of James, Sirius _and _both their parents. Hmmm...

While I was musing over this, Matt suddenly leapt up.

'Hey, the team sheet!' I looked up, saw it was indeed on the notice board, and checked my watch. It was exactly 8 o'clock. I rolled my eyes, then jumped up to check the sheet, holding my breath.

Matt and I read it at exactly the same time.

_The new seeker is Del Morrell, and the reserve is Matt Parker. All decisions are final._

I looked at Matt, only to find _he_ was looking at _me_, grinning. 'Sorry...' I said, feeling guilty.

'Hey, it's cool.' Matt said, smiling still. 'I didn't really mind either way. But you know what this means, don't you?' I raised on eyebrow.

'Um... no.'

'Well, you have to let me take you out on a consolation date! How's next Hogsmeade weekend?

'Next Hogsmeade weekend's great.' I replied, unable to keep the smile off my face.

'Great.' Matt said, and bent down to kiss my cheek. I blushed, and he grinned again. 'We should probably go and catch up on lost sleep then...' I nodded, and we set off to our dorms, both looking back and smiling before we started up the stairs.

I flopped back into bed, grinning like a maniac. I'd got Seeker, _and _I'd got a hot date for next weekend. Not bad work for a Sunday morning.

**Hey, I've just read through my reviews! 28, thanks guys! And just a note to karabell-karaboo723, I'm sorry if you find my inaccuracy of the time period offensive, but this isn't really supposed to be a historical novel, it's a bit of fun, so...yeah. And no, I didn't do any research on it, because it's set in Hogwarts... which is imaginary. So the research wouldn't be relevant for most of it. **


	15. Chapter 15

**So if you haven't read my new story, please do. Don't worry, I won't forget about this one though! **

"You're _what?_" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade with Matt Bailey." I repeated, cringing away from the squealing that followed my statement. I think Alice and Lily might be more excited that I'd got a date than _I _was. Which shows how truly sad my life is. The squealing and hugging suddenly stopped, and I dared to open one eye to check they hadn't been eaten by a massive escaped flobberworm.

But, no. Alice and Lily were just standing still, staring at me, then each other, then me. I won't pretend that it didn't freak me out how in sync they were. 'Cause it did. Big time.

"Do you know what this means?" Lily asked, looked excited and scared at the same time. Alice looked like she would pee herself if she opened her mouth... yeah, that didn't make sense unless you looked at her.

"Err... no." I said, mightily confused. Sometimes I wish Lily and Alice weren't so melodramatic.

"You have to tell Sirius!" Alice shrieked and started bouncing around the room, laughing merrily. I looked at Lily, hoping we could share that _Alice-has-gone-hyper-again-let's-find-her-pills-quickly _look that we sometimes did, but she was giggling as well. Had the world gone insane?

"So...he'll care because?" I said, started to get a little annoyed. We were meant to be having a fun girly gossip session about Matt and anybody and everybody affiliated with Matt right now! Lily and Alice both stopped and stared at me like _I _was the one who had once tried to do a somersault off of her bed (that was Alice, in case you didn't guess).

"Well, young Del." Lily said, coming over, taking my hands and sitting me down on the bed. Alice joined us, still somehow exuding energy even though she was sitting still. "Sirius will be _jealous_." Lily continued, talking like I was about 3.

I was too confused to get annoyed about it, though. Why would Sirius be jealous? Of me? Did he like Matt? But Sirius was always so masculine... he couldn't be gay...

"Is Sirius gay?" I blurted. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, Del. Ok, let me put this simply for you. Sirius... like-y... you." She said, making the hand motions that she would use if she was trying to persuade a chimpanzee to do something. I rolled my eyes.

"Erm, no. Sorry Lily, but your amazing girl love-radar is broken." Lily sighed.

"Fine, _don't _believe me. But you should know that every time you tell me a big announcement, e.g. yours and Sirius' engagement, your wedding, your pregnancy, I _will _say I told you so. Every. Time."

I laughed at the insanity of her statement. If any of that happened, I would eat Dumbledore's hat.

"Um, yeah, _whatever_ Lily. Can we get breakfast now?" I whined. Hey, a hungry Del is not a friendly Del.

Alice and Lily followed me down to the great hall, bickering about something. Ah, the lovely sounds of a harmonious friendship.

We plonked down at the Gryffindor table, and I proceeded to stuff my face with food. OMNOM. I missed the next few minutes of conversation/life, and when I next looked up, all four of the marauders were sitting with us – Sirius right across from me.

"Hey, Sirius." Alice started, a mysterious gleam in her eye. "Del has something to tell you."

"No, I don't!" I said. "He doesn't even care, Alice. Give it up!" In contrast to what I just said, Sirius suddenly looked _very _interested. What is it with boys and reverse psychology?

"What is it?" Sirius asked, leaning forward. I shook my head. This was all stupid, it wasn't even a big deal.

"Yeah, muggley, tell us." James joined, smirking as I got more and more pressured. Apparently Alice couldn't take the silence, and decided to break it.

"She's going to Hogsmeade this weekend with Matt Bailey!" She squealed. If I didn't love her, I swear I would hate her. I grinned and looked at Sirius, expecting him to roll his eyes and smile fondly over Alice's excitability with me. Instead, James and Remus were sitting stiffly, looking down at the table, and Sirius face was frozen in a state of surprise. Peter was still obliviously chomping on a massive piece of melon.

"Er... Matt Bailey? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sirius said, his face reverting back to a carefully neutral pokerface.

"Why wouldn't it be?"I asked, confused. What was it with people and being enigmatic today?

"Well, I've heard he doesn't treat his girlfriends very nicely..." He said, hinting. I snorted, unable to help myself.

"Isn't that just a _teensy _bit hypocritical?" I asked. Sirius glared.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's not like _you _have the best track record of kindness to your girlfriends – oh, sorry, hook-ups." Sirius looked genuinely offended.

"Hey, they know _exactly _what they're getting into with me. It's not like I've ever been tied down. They know I only want their body." Everyone around us was shrinking away, expecting a blow-up soon.

"Yeah, but that's where you're wrong, Sirius. All of them think that they'll be the one to change you, to make you commit. You _do _lead them on, even if you can't help it." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"It's not like they don't get over it." I scoffed.

"Oh, really? Not even the ones that have so much faith in their ability to change you that they give you their virginity? The ones that you dump straight after that? They get over it? Hannah Laymans didn't. Victoria Sandler didn't. Rachel Chester transferred _schools _because of you. You don't even realise that they're people, do you? You just see them as conquests, or sex toys or something, don't you?" Here Sirius tried to interrupt me, but I was on a roll.

"They have feelings too, Sirius. Imagine if someone else had become 'King' of the school, and you were just an average Joe like the rest of us. And then a girl used you like that. You think you'd get over it?" And with that, I turned on my heel and left.

KABOOM! What an exit! I was pretty proud of myself for that. But I meant everything I'd said. Since making friends with Sirius, I'd been ignoring the womanizing aspect of him, because I didn't want to lose him. But it was just inhumane, really. I couldn't ignore it any more.

**Like it? I didn't, really. Sorry about that. My writing kind of varies with my mood. **

**But review anyway! If you want ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I am aware that I managed to change Matt's surname – sorry about that! I'm sticking with Parker, though.**

I hadn't spoken to Sirius for 10 days. And if that weren't enough, I was now the talk of the school. Half the school seemed to have heard our argument at the breakfast table, and the half that heard it second hand have apparently taken it upon themselves to embellish the story to the point where I was pregnant with Sirius' baby, Sirius was refusing to support me, and he was now cheating on me with Hannah Laymans, Victoria Sandler, _and _Rachel Chester, even though the last one now went to Beauxbatons.

Walking through corridors and knowing that at least a third of all the people there were talking about you was disconcerting. Some people didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that they were talking about me. In fact, one girl came up to me and asked if I knew if it was a girl or boy. Lily and Alice had to hold me back from punching/hexing that one.

James and Remus didn't seem to know quite who they should support. While they weren't cold-shouldering me, or (hopefully) believing any of the rumours, they were hanging out with Sirius just as much, if not more than ever. I didn't blame them - they were, after all, 'BBFs'. Unfortunately, this meant I didn't end up talking to them much, because I wasn't speaking to Sirius. Well, he wasn't talking to me, either. I wasn't the only one being childish here.

I was also avoiding Matt. There was no doubt that he'd heard the rumours, and I wasn't sure what he would believe. Whenever I saw him coming, I would change directions, duck into another corridor, or sneak into one of the shortcuts around the castle that I've found. This strategy was going well until I realised (Alice actually reminded me, surprise surprise!) that our 'date' was in three days.

In the common room, Alice and Lily shoved me towards the fireplace, where he was sitting doing his homework. I sat down in the armchair opposite, and gave him a sheepish smile when he looked up.

"Erm… hi." I said.

"Hey," he replied, half-smiling. There was an awkward pause.

"So… this is awkward…" I said, twiddling my thumbs.

"Are you pregnant?" Matt suddenly asked, looking at me seriously. I stared at him for a minute, then started giggling.

"No way. Ew. Plus, why would I want to have a baby with _Sirius_?" I snorted, after my little giggle-fest. Matt immediately relaxed, and grinned.

"Well, you know, it doesn't usually happen on _purpose_…"

"Whoa! I've already had that talk, thanks! Mum's already told me about the birds and the bees!"

_Good thing she already did, 'cause you'll never have a _talk _with her again._ A little voice in my head said. I ignored it and laughed along with Matt.

"So are we still on for Saturday?" He asked, smiling. WHY IS HE SO GORGEOUS?

"Yes please!" I blurted before I could stop myself, then blushed. Uuuuuuuuugh. Kill me now.

"Ok then!" He laughed, while I buried my head in my hands.

"I've gotta go," I mumbled, my face still in my hands.

"Meet down here at 10 on Saturday?" Matt asked, kindly ignoring my dorkishness.

"Ok," I looked up, reassured by his casual tone. I leaned over to kiss his cheek as a goodbye kiss, and he turned his head so I kissed him full on the lips. I pulled back and looked at him, and he winked. I laughed and started to head towards the stairs to the girls' dorms.

"See you Saturday!" Matt called after me.

"TTFN!" I called back, smiling to myself.

**Sirius POV (oooh, that's new! O.o)**

I watched Del walk off, then turned my glare back on Matt Parker. What. A. Dick.

"Padfoot?"

"What?" I snapped, not removing my glare.

"You've been staring at Matt Parker for 15 minutes now. Anything you want to tell us?"

"'Course not, Prongs. I just feel sorry for both of them. He's going to have to deal with her annoying whining, and she's going to have to deal when he inevitably finds someone better looking and dumps her." I could practically _feel _Prongs and Moony exchanging a look behind me.

"Is someone a bit bitter?" James asked playfully.

"Why would I be bitter?" I countered, my eyes still on Parker.

Moony moved round so that he was in my gaze and I couldn't see Parker.

"Hey!" I strained to see around Moony so that I could glare at him again.

"Sirius. Seriously. Look at me." I reluctantly looked at Moony. It wasn't like I could do anymore glaring anyway.

"Why are you so annoyed about Del and Matt going to Hogsmeade together?" I sighed. Ever the peacemaker.

"I'm not annoyed. Why would I be annoyed?"

"That's kinda what _he _asked." James interjected.

"Merlin! Can't a guy just glare in peace?"

"Why don't you just admit that you like her?" Moony said sensibly. I hate when he does that.

"What? Like who?" I said, looking for a way out of the conversation.

"Del. You know you like her. _We _know you like her. There's no point denying it." I sighed again. Arguing with Moony about anything other than pranks, beer and schoolwork was pointless.

"Ok, whatever, I like her, happy?"

"So tell her!" Moony said, grinning. Stupid smug littl-

"No way!" Prongs said, before I even could.

We all looked at him - even Wormtail, who had been eating some kind of dessert and not really paying attention.

"Why not?" Moony asked, looking disappointed.

"Muggley's like my little sister. And she's still… ya know… pure, and stuff." He looked kind of uncomfortable, but we were all staring at him, so he continued.

"No offence, man, but everything she said about you was kinda true-" I started to interrupt, indignant, but he talked over me. "Hey! I know I'm nearly as bad, and she didn't say it the nicest way and stuff, but it's true. You've got to admit that."

I nodded, looking down.

"And, I don't want my little sister to go through your crap, really." James finished off, somewhat lamely.

I didn't really have anything to say that. I might not like it, but he was kinda right.

"It's fine!" Moony said. I rolled my eyes – when he used that tone of voice, we all knew we were in trouble. "Padfoot can just change!"

"Moony, we already do change. Once a month, remember?" We all turned to look at Peter. He shrank back timidly. I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, Remus, I seriously doubt he could do that." James said.

"Hey!" I replied indignantly. "There's nothing Sirius Black can't do! I can give up girls, just say when."

Remus and James looked at each other, then turned back to me.

"When." The said simultaneously.

**I'm sosososososo sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I'm the worst writer ever. On the plus side, they'll probably be more regular now, because I HAVE MY OWN LAPTOP! :D It's called Manfred. So yeah, sorry, but expect more regular updates. Review if you think I deserve it ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**HEY GUYZZ I GOT A GOLDFISH! I'M, LYK, SO EXCITED! No but really, he's so cool! He's called Dobby II :) Thank you for keeping reading even though I didn't update for too long, and thank you to sugarquills-and-lillies, whose review I just read and for whom I am writing this because she was the first review :D**

DEL POV

"ARGH!" I yelled, and flopped back on my bed. I hadn't been on a date for ages and ages and ages and ages and ages and ages… you catch my drift. Basically I didn't know what to wear.

"It's ok, sit back and let Auntie Alice and Auntie Lily do all the work," Alice said in a voice that I think was _meant _to be soothing. To be honest, it scared me.

"Oh dear Merlin, what are you going to dress me in?" I moaned. "Lily! Rein her in! PLEASE!" Lily laughed, but must have agreed, since she took a fluorescent orange top out of Alice's hand.

One hour later, after dressing me in several outfits that made me look like an ogre, goblin, and Moaning Myrtle respectively, I ended up in something quite nice. I was wearing faded jeans, a lovely knitted sweater and a panda hat. It was November, after all.

"Thank you, guys! You work miracles, Lily!" I squealed, somewhat fangirlishly (unfortunately).

"Hey! What about me?" Asked Alice indignantly.

"How could I forget you? Thank you for being present while Lily worked miracles!" And I hugged her.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Go have fun on your date." She said, playfully smacking me.

"What are you guys doing for the day?" I suddenly realised that I didn't even know. Merlin, I'm a self-obsessed cow.

"I'm spending the day with Frank…" Alice trailed off with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Guess that answers that question!" Lily said, laughing. "I'm studying with Remus." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're studying… on a Hogsmeade day?"

"Yeah… well… if we finish our essays, we might go into town." She said, grinning.

"Thought so." I didn't even bother to pretend to playfully ask if it was a date, because we both knew that Remus would never even think about asking Lily out. Anyone who did would bring down the wrath of James Potter. And seeing as they shared a room, that might not be entirely comfortable for Remus. Or safe.

"Del, it's 2 minutes 'til 10! Go!" I started and hurried down to the common room to find Matt waiting for me on a sofa. I grinned as he stood up.

"You look great!" He said, taking my hand and kissing my cheek.

"Thanks, you look pretty as well!" I said, then put my free hand over my mouth. I should just stop talking when Matt's in the vicinity. Luckily, he seemed to find it cute – or at least tolerable – seeing as he laughed and held on to my hand, dragging me playfully out of the portrait hole.

Half an hour later, we were in Honeydukes… mmm… Honeydukes. When we first went in, I was nervous about seeming like a pig in front of him, but after he picked up four sugar quills and six ice mice, I stopped worrying.

We must have spent over an hour in Honeydukes which, considering how many times we'd both been before, should probably have been slightly worrying. But I was having way too good of a time with Matt to notice.

I don't know how I'd never noticed before that he was so funny – and charming – and handsome – and… the list goes on. However, by the time we'd spent four hours in Hogsmeade, we'd kind of exhausted most options.

"You want to go back to school?" Matt asked as we headed back down the road from the Shrieking Shrack.

"…Or we could go get another butterbeer?" I suggested slyly.

"I'm voting for the second idea!" He cried, grabbing my hand again and pulling me along to the Three Broomsticks. What did all this hand-holding mean? Were we officially a couple? Argh, why was everything so confusing?

We'd already been to the Three Broomsticks earlier, but as both of us loved it, loved butterbeer, and loved the warmth of the massive fireplace, it probably wasn't going to be a problem to go again.

"I'll get the drinks, you get a table?" Matt suggested, while we stamped the cold out of our feet at the entrance of the pub.

"Sure!" I replied, heading over to the corner nearest the fireplace. Hey, what can I say? British November is _cold, _people!

So I sat, twiddling my thumbs (literally) and pondering how lucky I was to be on a date with _Matt Parker_.

"Howdy there, Muggley!" I rolled my eyes. Wonder who that could be? (Note the sarcasm).

"Hey! Stalking me?" I asked, turning to face Jamesy boy. Who was with his friend. Guess which one? If you guessed 'the one I'm currently in an argument with', you guessed right!

"No…" James said, grinning. "Just casually checking up on your date!"

"Well he hasn't raped me yet, so I'm guessing he probably won't." I replied, half joking and half _really wanting them to go away_. Sirius was studiously avoiding my eyes – in fact, he seemed to be extremely interested in the window behind my head.

"Why don't we just make sure of that?" James said, a gleam in his eye that I really didn't like. It never meant anything good. I followed his gaze, which was now also over my head, to see Matt heading back towards me, a drink in each hand and a slightly confused/irritated/angry expression on his face. When he saw me looking, he immediately smiled. Gorgeously.

"Hey Potter, hey Black." He said as he arrived.

"Hi, Parker. Just chatting to ole' Muggley here, weren't we Sirius?" James never broke eye contact with Matt – they seemed to be having some kind of staring competition going on. Sirius' head did a funny little jerk.

"Uh?" He grunted.

"Do you want to sit down?" Matt asked me, breaking the contact with James and ignoring them both. I nodded and slid into the booth and he did too – close and cosy, I might add.

"What a good idea!" James exclaimed, sitting down opposite us and dragging Sirius with him.

"Great." Matt muttered, under his breath.

"So, we were just wondering, Parker…" Sirius started speaking for the first time in his annoying tone of voice, where he's being a prat, _knows _he's being a prat, but can't stop being a prat. "Why are you going out with Del?" The three of the rest of us just looked at him. From the look on James' face, this bit wasn't scripted.

"What?" Matt asked.

"Why are you going out with Del?" Sirius repeated, speaking like Matt was a two year old.

"…Because I want to?" Matt answered, phrasing it like a question. To be fair, I don't think even James knew where he was going with this, and they were like brothers.

"There must be some ulterior motive, though." Sirius insisted, leaning forwards. "Guys like you don't just go out with girls like her for no reason." I stared at him.

"Are you saying I'm not good enough for him?" I asked, kind of shocked. I knew we were in a fight, but that was slightly harsh, wasn't it?

"I never said that." Sirius replied.

"What _are _you saying, then?" James asked, apparently just as flummoxed as the rest of us.

"Just that someone who… _gets around _… as much as Parker, would probably want something from Del here." He looked at Matt. "You know she's pure, right?" Matt looked back at him, a slightly disgusted look on his face.

"It's not my business. You're such a dick, you know that?" Sirius looked triumphant, like he'd been trying to get a rise all along. It made me want to punch him.

"Unless that's _why _you're going out with her! Del, watch out, he wants to deflower you!" His voice had now turned mocking. Matt turned to me.

"Wanna leave?" I nodded.

We left quickly, walking back to the school in near-silence. Just before we got to Gryffindor tower, I said: "Sorry. Sirius is an idiot." Maybe it wasn't the _best _speech ever, but I felt it got the message across.

"It's fine…" Matt replied, "…but it got me thinking…" His voice trailed off, leaving the corridor in silence.

"Yes?" I whispered.

"What would happen if I did… this?" And he kissed me. I was aware that it was the most cliché thing alive, that it was so unoriginal it might as well have been the first move ever, but I didn't care. He was kissing me and it was wonderful, and I was going to enjoy the moment, no matter what.

When he pulled away I smiled.

"That was…wow." He grinned back.

"I know. Maybe we should do that again some time."

"Maybe we should." I agreed. And with that, we both entered the common room and disappeared up to our respective dorms, without a glance back. I was so excited to tell the girls!

**Yeah, Del's girlier side is coming out. AWH! Hope you like it, review if you want :D**


	18. Chapter 18

The next few weeks went by in a blur. What with Matt, Quidditch and the new, intensified brand of homework that we seemed to be getting in Sixth Year, I was always busy.

Before I'd realised, it was suddenly Christmas. Ghosts were wandering around singing carols, mistletoe hung from the ceilings, and a lot of people had gone home. Lily and Alice had both gone – Lily reluctantly going back to her family, and Alice spending the holiday with Frank's family in Switzerland. I didn't even _want _to think about what they were getting up to.

Anyway, this arrangement left me alone in my dorm and with only the Marauders to talk to. Oh, and Matt. For the first few days, we spent the whole time with each other. We pretty much only separated for bathroom breaks and to sleep.

I felt like I knew him inside out; we were always talking, or having snowman building competitions in the grounds. He also brought out my girlier side – I was now actually making an effort with what I wore and how I looked.

I was still ignoring Sirius unless it was necessary, and he was doing the same. I could tell it was getting extremely uncomfortable for James, as he didn't know where his loyalties should lie. I didn't blame him, to be honest. Sirius and him had been best friends only about 5 minutes shorter than we had, and they shared a dorm, so they were bound to be closer. Then again, I was right, and Sirius was being a dick. It's a hard choice to make.

Soon it was Christmas day. Everyone had laid aside their differences, and there was a massive snowball fight between everyone left at school. The four houses were against each other, and I have to say (completely unbiasedly) that Gryffindor is definitely winning.

At the moment, I was pushed up against a snow fort with a fourth year. Our cheeks were pink, our breath quick, and our fingers numb. But it was so worth it. I put my fingers to my lips then made the attack signal. The fourth year (I think her name was Annie?) nodded and took a deep breath. We both counted to three, then- KABOOOM.

Oh yeah, ninja sounds. That's just how awesome we were.

Well, maybe not ninja awesome. But we _did _get two Ravenclaws in the faces, and repelled the three Slytherins that had been sneaking towards our fort.

So that's how most of that went. By the end, Gryffindor had _obviously _won, the other houses creeping away with their tails between their legs. Matt picked me up and twirled me before giving me a victory kiss. I didn't miss Sirius rolling his eyes and doing a rude impression of us. Well, he can go-

Sorry, it's Christmas.

Anyway, that evening there was a huge feast. We all sat at one table (there were only about 30 people left from all the houses) which nearly collapsed under the weight of all the food. We all exchanged presents, too. James had got me a plant, which was different, but then he came over to explain it. It was a special magic plant, and if you ate a leaf then you became invisible for exactly one minute. What a _James _kind of present. It was great though, I could sneak into the boys' dorms to see Matt…

Remus and Peter clubbed together to get me a nice set of robes, which I thanked them for, and Lily and Alice had also joined their money and they had bought me a book. It was called: "Everything a Teenage Witch Needs to Know" I flicked through it while we ate the starters. Some of the things it included were _Hair Tricks in Under 3 Minutes_, _Magic Makeup_ and _Clothes Fixes For Desperate Times_. I laughed out loud at the last one, but couldn't deny that this would probably come in handy. I found a post-it note stuck at the back, saying _For your dates with loverboy_.

Thanks, Alice.

I was nervous as I opened my present from Matt. It would probably say quite a bit about where our relationship was _at_, right? Or was Alice rubbing off on me? Anyway, Matt watched as I ripped off the wrapping paper and found… a scarf. A nice scarf. But a scarf.

He couldn't think of anything else? After all the heart-to-hearts we had, during which I told him nearly everything about myself, the best Christmas gift he could come up with was a scarf? James and Sirius seemed to agree with this analysis – both of them snorted and turned away when they saw what it was.

I turned to Matt and forced a happy smile.

"Thank you! It's really pretty and - um – practical!"

"You're _very _welcome." Matt said smugly. Smugly? Well, he seemed smug, anyway. Maybe all boys are smug when they think they've bought the perfect present? Ugh, the word smug is starting to sound weird.

After that the conversation flowed naturally again. The highlight of the celebrations was when Dumbledore opened his present from the Marauders. It was a live duck. Dumbledore threw his head back and laughed, then decided to call it Hezekiah. Merlin knows where he got _that _from. Well, he is crazy, after all.

All in all, it was a pretty satisfactory day, and I can't say I would complain about how it ended, either. Matt and I went up to his dorm (which was otherwise empty, seeing as everyone else had gone home) and made out on his bed.

He's so great, and such a great kisser! I'm so lucky to have him. Stuff Sirius and his stupid judgements- what would he know about Matt? He's just jealous that we have a proper relationship anyway, seeing as his are all about 5 hours long.

"Del?" Matt said.

"Mmm?"

"Do you want to…" He trailed off.

"What, you mean…_it_?" I asked, pulling back.

"Yeah." He carried on kissing my neck. "Why not?"

"Well… isn't it a bit soon?" I asked. I wasn't ready for this!

"No… we've been going out for 3 months, Del. Come on, I love you. Do this one thing for me?" I blinked in shock. He loved me?

"You love me?" I asked.

"Sure I do. Come on, Del." I smiled. Well, if he loved me...

DOT. DOT. DOT.

**LOL. Ok, Happy Christmas! (In the story, don't worry, I know it's not Christmas). DUN DUN DUN, what will happen next?**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And to anyone who said it was too soon for them to DO IT, that's kinda the point ;)**

I woke up the next morning feeling great. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was naked in Matt's bed with his arms around me. Sure, the last one was a little unusual, but hey. Going with the flow, here.

I fluttered my eyes open groggily to see Matt staring at me.

"Finally! You've been sleeping on my arm – it's numb. Could you?" I smiled and lifted my head to free Matt's arm.

"Thanks." He said, getting up. Getting up?

"What are you doing?" I asked, as he pulled his clothes on.

"Er… getting dressed?" He replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But… what about me?" I said, trying to find a way to say it that didn't make me sound like a retard.

"Well, you can get dressed too."

"…That's it?" I asked. "Now I just leave?" He rolled his eyes.

"That's the idea."

"Isn't there meant to be some kind of cuddling involved here? Isn't that what most couples do?" I wasn't exactly experienced in sex, but wasn't that the norm?

Matt didn't seem to think so, though.

"Yeah, that reminds me." He said. He was fully dressed now, standing by the door. "I think we should break up." I stared at him.

"What? Last night you said you loved me!" I cringed as I said it, but it had to be said. Matt laughed.

"Yeah, that was last night and this is now. I was horny and I had a bet to win, ok?" A bet. The single most cliche thing in the world.

"A bet." I repeated, keeping my face completely straight.

"Yeah, 20 galleons. So… yeah. Let yourself out. See you around."

What. The. Hell. I was left alone in his bed feeling like a cheap nasty whore. Why did I do it with him? 3 months! It's not even that I felt like a whore, I _was _a whore!

I was even _warned _about this. By Sirius I'm-A-Dick Black, too! Well. There was no way I was going to let him say I told you so. It was bad enough that I'd lost my virginity to a major PRICK, there was no way I was having Black gloating about it. I would be dignified. I would not say anything about it. I would pretend that it didn't affect me. And I would stay away from anything with a penis.

Before I left, I allowed one tear to escape. But that was before I left. And once I'd stepped out of the door of Parker's dorm, I was a different person.

Luckily, I didn't see Parker or Sirius on the way from the boys' dorms to the girls'. Then I stayed in my dorm all day and finished the holiday homework that I'd been neglecting in favour of hanging out with Parker. It took me about 5 hours to finish it all. Then I was stuck for things to do.

I decided to tidy. It wasn't something I'd ever done before, but I needed something to fill the time I now had stretching in front of me. However, it was still only 4 in the afternoon by the time I'd finished our entire dorm. I hadn't eaten the entire day, so I decided to sneak down to the kitchens quickly to get a snack.

The house elves made a mean bakewell tart.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side. The moment I stepped into the common room, Sirius Black was in front of me.

"Dumbledore wants you." He informed me.

"Ta." I said, and headed for the portrait hole, mourning the loss of a good bakewell tart. I didn't see the weird look I got from Black as I walked away.

I made it to Dumbledore's office without as much trouble as last time, except for the password. In his after-Christmas buzz, he'd changed it to Hezekiah. Took me about fifteen minutes of constant babbling to guess it.

Just like last time, I was only just lifting my hand to knock as he said,

"Come in."

Still just as weird.

I walked in, hoping to Merlin that Dumbledore couldn't _actually _read minds, and therefore couldn't tell what happened last night/this morning. He gestured, and I sank into the same _amazing _chair as I did last time.

"Hi, Sir." I said.

"Hello, Miss Morrell." He replied, smiling at me. Then his expression became serious. "I'm sorry to have to call you here for a very grave discussion that may be upsetting for you. If you would like, we could postpone this conversation for one or two days. I'm sure you'd like to celebrate Christmas without hindrance."

"No, it's fine. Tell me now." I replied. _Like things could get worse. _Was this another thing about my mum?

"As you wish. As you may have guessed, I have found out more about your birth family." I took a breath. "However, before I reveal all, I must warn you. Once you know this, there will be no going back. And I need to ask you to stay calm once you know, or there will be disastrous consequences. Do you still wish to know?"

I was starting to get alarmed now, but my curiosity was far greater.

"I understand, and I still want to know, Sir." Dumbledore nodded, his eyes empty of their normal sparkle.

"As you are aware I've spent some time investigating your biological family. This is because I received intelligence that Voldemort is very interested in you. You should know that he is planning to recruit you straight after you leave school." I blinked.

"Me? I've lived with muggles my whole life. I'm not even that good at magic!"

"I think you'll find that many people would disagree with you on that second point, but more on that later. I was also perplexed about this, because of your first observation. I decided to look closer. I made some alarming discoveries."

I'd already heard this. Jane Harper was my real mum, and was murdered.

"I know I've already told you about your mother, Miss Morrell, but I recently discovered some new information. I believe I know who your father is, and who killed your mother."

I sat up straighter.

"Unfortunately I have to tell you that they are the same person."

The same person? What? So my father killed my mother? This was like an episode of Coronation Street gone horribly wrong. What a scumbag.

"Who?" I asked. I was having a hard time breathing normally.

"Please remember what I asked you about keeping calm." Dumbledore said.

"WHO?" I repeated.

"Calm down, Miss Morrell!" Dumbledore commanded. Immediately I felt myself breathing slower.

"Please tell me." I said, more quietly.

"First the back story. Your mother lived in London, near to an orphanage. Your father grew up in that orphanage. They would see each other in the holidays, then your father would leave to come back to Hogwarts. As I understand it, they were in a relationship from your father's fourth year until his seventh."

_Who cares? _I thought. Just tell me his name!

"I'm sorry to draw this out, but understanding the whole story is important. When your father returned here for his seventh year, he left Miss Harper pregnant – unbeknownst to him. Your mother, however, was very much aware, and kept it from him purposefully. She felt that before the summer he had changed, very much for the worse. She'd realised this near the end of the holiday, just before she realised she was carrying his child."

"Me." I whispered.

"Yes, Miss Morrell, you. Your mother was worried about your safety, and so dropped out of school and moved. She knew about magic, and was scared of what your father might do. She was right to be worried. Your father grew to be the darkest wizard the world has ever seen, and the most powerful. Your mother succeeded in hiding the both of your for 5 years – an exceptional achievement, considering – until your father's followers caught up with you."

I didn't hear the last part – I was too busy figuring it out. Darkest and most powerful wizard of all time? But surely that could only be… Voldemort? I flinched as I thought his name.

"What? My father is… You-Know-Who?" I stared at him. Could You-Know-Who even spawn children? I didn't feel particularly evil… had my whole life been a lie? Was I now destined to grow into a sick, twisted torturer like my… _father_?

"Unfortunately, yes." Dumbledore was watching me very closely, but I didn't care. There was a rage building up inside me that I couldn't control. Suddenly there was a huge howl from the wind outside, and I automatically looked at the window. Rain was lashing against the glass and from this vantage point I could see even the Whomping Willow being tossed about in the massively powerful wind. There was a lightning bolt that illuminated the whole grounds, then a thunder clap followed straight after. The storm must have been right over the school!

"Miss Morrell, stop this!" Dumbledore said. I looked over at him. He looked so old and so tired that all the anger went out of me.

"I was doing that?" I whispered. Dumbledore sighed.

"Yes. Sit down and let me explain. And please, remember to keep calm."

**OH MY GOOOOSH. What do we think? Good idea? Too much? LET ME KNOOOOOOOOW :D**


	20. Chapter 20

"But…how did I do that?" I murmured, staring at my hands in new-found awe.

"Your mother realised that you would probably inherit powerful abilities from your father. Though she was a muggle, she knew some wizards – some of whom were very strong. She persuaded some of her magical friends to cast an ancient spell on you while you were still an infant. This ensured that your powers would not be unlocked until you knew about your father."

"So… I have evil powers? Am I going to turn into a murderer?"

"No!" Dumbledore said sharply. "You will _not _turn into a murderer, Miss Morrell."

"But I'm genetically evil." I said flatly. Then a new thought struck me. "Mitchie! I killed him! Th- they targeted us – them – because of what I am – it _is _my fault!"

Dumbledore stared seriously at me over the top of his half-moon glasses.

"Miss Morrell, it is _not your fault_. Death Eaters did not target your adopted family because you are the daughter of their leader. If you recall, they wrote 'Mudblood' on the wall. If they knew of your heritage, do you think they would write that?"

I was still having trouble breathing.

"I'm sure this is hard to absorb, but there are things that we must now consider." I looked up.

"What? Other than that I'm a freak?" Dumbledore sighed.

"You are not a freak. You may be dealing with a different situation than your peers, but you are still like them in every other aspects."

"Well, what do we need to consider?" I asked. What could possibly make a difference now?

"You need to learn how to control and utilise your abilities. I will not lie, this will be a difficult task. I will not force you into it."

"What will happen if I don't?"

Dumbledore looked awkward for the first time since I'd known him.

"You will die, Miss Morrell. Your powers will destroy you in an uncontrolled burst."

I drew in an angry breath.

"What the hell? So basically I _have _to. I _have _to learn how to control my shitty evil powers, and then what? You want me to take on Voldemort? Or do you want me to turn spy, join him and tell you what he does?" Now I was turning slightly delirious. "How about I just go now? What's the point in NEWTs anymore? It is my _destiny, _after all!"

Dumbledore looked at me over his glasses.

"Miss Morrell, please sit down." I realised that I'd stood up somewhere in the middle of my angry rant. I plopped back down, still breathing hard. "Please do not refer to your talents as evil powers." I nearly smirked that he'd left out the swear word.

"Talents?"

"Yes, talents. Without knowing it, Voldemort has equipped you with what you need to equal, and possibly defeat him."

"So you _do _want me to kill him!" I exclaimed, sitting up.

"That is the hopeful outcome, yes. I know that a lot is riding on you here, Miss Morrell." But his previous words had just made me remember something else.

"Wait… before you said that my mother never told…Voldemort… that she was pregnant. Does he know now?"

"I believe so, yes. Which is why he is looking to recruit you. He may have guessed that you have gifts."

I snorted. _Gifts._

There was so much to think about. I had to kill my own father? But then again, he was an evil shithead who had killed my mother and countless other people. Could I really think of him as my father? Half of my chromosomes we his. I imagined myself split in two, one half evil and twisted, the other smiley and good.

Oh, Merlin. I was going insane.

What about my powers? Was I going to be able to do really cool stuff, like maybe shoot lasers out of my eyes? Or was it all going to be horrible things like torturing people with my mind, or even talking to snakes? I'd heard Voldemort could do that…

"Just what do my powers entail?" I asked Dumbledore cautiously.

He looked thoughtful.

"I am not sure yet. I believe that we will both find out as we proceed. But from your demonstration earlier, I would take a guess that you can control the weather with your mood."

I gawped.

Everyone knew that Dumbledore's guesses were nearly always right! Holy McMerlin!

_So when I'm PMSing… thunder all day?_ I thought wryly.

"When do I start training?" I asked. Dumbledore beamed at me.

"Thank you for your eagerness. I shall give you the rest of the week to get used to the idea but once school starts I shall let you know. Is that all right?"

I nodded quickly and smiled. By that point, I just wanted to leave. I stood up and offered my hand to Dumbledore to shake. He looked at it, his eyes twinkling.

"Nice talking to you." I said, and strode out of the office.

My mind was on auto-pilot as I made my way back to Gryffindor tower. I didn't notice where I was until the fourth time the Fat Lady asked me for the password, screeching as loud as she could.

"Oh… sorry!" I said quickly. "Gillyweed." She huffed a bit as she let me in, but I ignored her and went straight to my favourite seat by the fireplace. I sat there for about 3 minutes until Sirius came over and plopped into the seat next to me. I looked up but didn't acknowledge him.

"So." He said.

I ignored him. I was thinking.

"Are you in truuuu-ble?" He asked, grinning childishly.

"Mmmm." I muttered.

Just then, Parker entered the Common Room. He had a Hufflepuff girl on his arm and they certainly looked _very _close. And by that I mean she was whispering in his ear in between passionate kisses. There was no doubt in my mind that they were off to his dorm for a blow job. Or sex. Maybe mine wasn't good enough?

Sirius had been looking at them too, then turned to me, his face slightly shocked. I half smiled. Sirius Black- shocked? Surely not!

"Erm…" He didn't seem to know what to say.

"Yeah, we broke up." I said. Hopefully in a way that dissuaded further inquiry. There was no way I was letting Sirius say 'I told you so'.

"When?" He asked, a strange tone to his voice.

"This morning." I said disinterestedly. I picked up the fire-poker thing and poked the fire.

I half expected Sirius to ask why, but no.

"Is that why you looked so weird when I told you about Dumbledore?" I looked at him. He had actually paid attention to someone other than himself?

"…I guess." I said quietly. Sirius looked like he wanted to say something else, but stayed quiet. Then…

"Are you ok?" Now, that I _really _didn't expect. He was looking at me with a genuinely concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, fine." I said. I wasn't really sure how to react to the serious side of Sirius. Hehe, serious Sirius. "I've just got… stuff to think about…" I knew I was being rude but trying to think about Parker, Dumbledore and Sirius all at once was too much. "Excuse me." I strode purposefully up the girls' stairs. I hope I looked more confident than I felt.

**Sirius POV **

As soon as Del was out of sight, I raced up to our room. In a macho way, of course. I might have given up the ladies, but I was as manly as ever.

"Guys!" I yelled as I entered the room. Everyone looked up. Remus had been reading some book about Charms (_in the holidays!)_, James had been playing with a snitch and Peter had been in the bathroom. He poked his head round the door as I came in.

"Yeah?" I jumped onto my bed and lay down.

"Del and Parker broke up." I said, smoothly, like I didn't care at all.

"What?" James said, sitting up. "Why?"

"Erm… I don't actually know."

James rolled his eyes.

"Jeez, Prongs! I wanted to know if she was ok!" Remus sniggered.

"Of course you did." I glared at him, then carried on.

"But the thing is, that they broke up this morning."

"And…"

"And, I saw her at, like, 4, and she didn't look sad or anything, just a bit pissed off. Then I told her that Dumbledore wanted to see her, and she went. Then she came back and looked pissed off _and _sad _and _kinda tired."

"Wait… she looked angry at Parker?" James said, sitting up even more. Peter came out of the bathroom fully dressed with wet hair.

"Yeah. What a dickwad."

Remus sighed. "You don't _actually _know what happened, Padfoot."

"Yeah, but I can _guess. _You guys said he was like me, remember?"

James' eyes narrowed. "What do you think he did?"

"Dunno." I said. _If he hurt her… _I thought. I always knew he was a prick.

"Well, whatever happened, this is an opportunity, right?" Remus was always the optimist.

"How?" Peter said, making his first contribution.

"You're right Moony! Get her while she's down!" I looked at James. As did Remus.

"Actually, that's not how I was gonna put it…"

"What do you mean?" I demanded. "I thought she was like your sister?"

"Yes, my dear fellow." James nodded wisely. "But if it's a choice between you and Parker, I'd rather have her with a dickhead like _you _than a dickhead like _Parker_. Because I know how much you're lusting after her."

I was about to defend my manhood, but then realised that he was kind of right.

"But if you hurt her, I will cut off your balls." James added.

**Ok, so I'm writing this at 3 in the morning 'cuz I can't sleep, so it's probably poo on a platter but hey, it's an update. And I'm sorry it's late! I was on holiday – in the wonderful land of America! Any amazingly cool readers from there? Specifically, from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington DC or New York? 'Cuz I went there! I'm officially cultured! :P**

**Anyway… review if you want! XD**


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm a terrible person! I'm really sorry! So thank you to anyone who carries on reading even though I'm a massive poo and take months to update and… yeah. Enjoy!**

"Like what you've done with the place." James smirked.

Sirius laughed at me and explained.

"This is the Room of Requirement. You walk back and forth in front of that wall back there and think about what you really need, and it just supplies a room for it."

I couldn't reply, there was too much awesome to speak. The boys were already getting comfy in the armchairs, and I joined them, sitting on the end next to Sirius.

"Comfy, muggley?" James asked, grinning at me from across the circle.

"Yes… why?"

Remus coughed loudly.

"No reason, just wondering if you wanted to change seats?"

"Um… I'm ok? Why are you being weird?"

James looked at Sirius and laughed.

"No reason."

**Sirius' POV**

I glared at James. Merlin, why was I friends with him? However, I was distracted from my death glare by Del.

"So, Sirius. You got us up here, and you got chocolate. Got any plans now?"

"Nah, not really." I saw her roll her eyes at me and grinned.

"We could just sit… and eat?" Peter contributed.

"What a good idea, Wormtail!" I mocked.

"Why did we need to come here specifically just to eat chocolate?" Del asked, with a good point, too.

"Um… not sure…" I said, trying to figure it out myself.

Del just snorted and grabbed some chocolate.

We spent the entire evening talking about stuff and eating chocolate. At one point Del tried to show us some Muggle game called Scrabble, but it was hard and Peter kept trying to put down words he'd just made up. I'd never realised how adorable Del was when she was exasperated.

"Peter, azzax is not a word! And neither is ponkal! _You can't put that down there!_"

We stopped playing after that.

Eventually, we all nodded off round the fire. When I woke up (everyone else was still draped over their chairs in weird positions, snoring), my hand was holding Del's in the space between our chairs.

I smiled, not wanting to move.

I sat in the same position, enjoying the feel of her hand in mine (also kind of wishing for more) until she woke up about half an hour later. I watched her blearily open her eyes and start to stretch, then realise that her hand was otherwise engaged.

"Oh… morning Sirius."

How did she make my name sound so damn good?

"Hey. Sleep well?"

"As much as you can on an armchair, I guess." She smiled. "Why are we holding hands?"

Um… what was I meant to say to that?

"When I woke up we were holding hands… and I didn't want to move. Because you were asleep and stuff." I said awkwardly. Del seemed satisfied with this explanation but I could hear a voice in my head, sounding a lot like Prongs, telling me to _Man the hell up, dude!_

"… and because I liked holding your hand." I added, looking at the floor. I didn't look up when she replied.

"Pardon?"

"I said I liked holding your hand." I glanced up, hoping to see an adoring gaze or something along those lines, but Del just looked a bit confused.

"What? Why?" I sighed. How could someone be that clueless and yet make it to 16 years old with no major accidents? Apart from that time that she transfigured Lucius Malfoy into a fish in 1st year. Well, come to think of it, she didn't look that upset about that. Neither did McGonagall.

Del had only broken up with her prat boyfriend yesterday… should I tell her I like her? What if she starts crying or something because of Parker? But then maybe she would need a shoulder to cry on? _My _shoulder to cry on?

"Because I like you." I blurted out. She just stared at me, and I suddenly became aware that my three best mates were sitting around us and it was very possible that they would wake up any second.

"Uh… Del?" I asked, when she didn't reply for a while.

"I… erm… gotta go." She said, standing up. "Talk to you later." And she walked hurredly out of the Room.

Well, crap.

**DEL's POV**

That was unexpected.

And it messed up all my carefully planned plans! How was I supposed to stay away from boys if _Sirius Black _liked me? But then again, what if he wasn't serious? What if it was a joke? Or worse, what if he was just like Parker?

I cringed away from that idea. I may not be an expert on either of them, or boys in general, but I was sure Sirius would never do that to me. Parker was secret about his… well, his dickishness, whereas Sirius put it out there for everyone to see. He wasn't hiding anything.

So if him telling me he liked me was either a joke or serious, and his friends weren't even awake to show off to, then did that mean he was serious? Which brought me on to a bigger question… did I like him back?

By the time I'd come to this conclusion (not really a conclusion, but enough to think about for the while), I'd reached the Gryffindor portrait hole.

"Password?" Asked the fat lady in her usual shrill voice.

"Christmas elves." I replied, mentally rolling my eyes yet again at her ridiculous password.

It got me inside though, and I immediately went up to my abandoned dorm room and flopped on my bed. Why was everything so confusing?

And how long was it until Alice and Lily got back?

**SIRIUS' POV**

When the rest of the Marauders woke up, I told them what had happened, word for word. There was a lot of sniggering at my awkwardness, but mostly they seemed to be concerned about whether Del was ok. Well, Prongs and Moony were. Wormtail was just nodding enthusiastically.

"What about me? You're not asking if _I'm _ok!" Prongs laughed at me.

"Padfoot, mate, you've bounced back from worse than this. Muggley obviously likes you back. She's probably confused because of Parker the Prick and stuff."

Moony looked at Prongs in surprise.

"That was awfully perceptive." James smirked.

"What can I say? I'm a woman expert." Moony rolled his eyes and turned back to me.

"_Anyway,_ you should talk to her." I got up.

"Where do you think she is?"

"Not _now!_" Moony tutted, pulling me back down. "When you next see her. Ask if you can talk."

"But then what do I say when we talk?"

"I can't script it out word for word for you, Sirius."

"Yeah, go with the flow, man." Prongs added in a creep hippy voice.

"Thanks guys." I grinned.

"But for now can we get breakfast?" Prongs asked, reverting back to his normal 16-going-on-5-year-old tone of voice.

"Ugh, I can't eat anything else after all that chocolate." Wormtail said, joining the conversation after sitting and rubbing his belly for most of it.

"I can!" Said James, jumping up. "Let's go!" I shook my head but followed him. From Prongs' puppy-like ways, sometimes I think _his _patronus should be the dog.

As we were leaving the Great Hall after breakfast (practically dragging James behind us as he was apparently too full to walk), we ran into Del. She was obviously on her way out to the Quidditch pitch. I stepped forward, trying to look like I knew what I was doing.

"Hey… can we talk?" I said. I was impressed with myself.

"Erm… ok." Del said, looking awkward but still ridiculously beautiful.

"I'll just drag Prongs up to the Tower by myself, shall I?" Remus asked, but we were already walking away.

"Cheers!" I called over my shoulder.

We ended up sitting right in the middle of the Quidditch pitch.

"So." I said, just trying to find a way to break the silence.

"Sorry I just ran out earlier." Del said, ripping grass from the pitch and watching as it magically grew back.

"That's ok… but why did you?" I asked.

"It's just… with Parker and everything… I wasn't sure you were serious." I smirked.

"I'm always Sirius!" Del didn't smile.

"Look, I just… _Were _you serious? Not joking or trying to add me to your list of conquests or something?"

I raised my eyebrows. I could see why someone who didn't know me well would think that, but Del? Surely she knew me better than that. Instead of saying those things, I grabbed her hand.

"Hey, look at me." I took her chin and turned it gently, making her look at me. For a second I lost my train of thought as I looked in her eyes. Then I remembered what I had to tell her. "I wasn't joking, or… the other thing you said. I really like you. Ask the guys. They go crazy with how much I talk about you in our dorm. I can't stop thinking about you." Del half-smiled then stopped again.

"It's just that yesterday morning I told myself I'd stay away from boys for a bit."

I ground my teeth together. What exactly had Parker done to her? I didn't even know the details but I already wanted to smash his face.

"Ah, but I don't count as a boy. I'm far too fine of a male specimen to be counted as a mere _boy_." Del smirked.

"You tell yourself that."

Suddenly I realised that the only reason she'd given me for not wanting to be with me was to do with Parker. Maybe there was hope?

"So… do you like me back?" I asked, then kicked myself for sounding like a five year old.

Del didn't reply and for a split second I thought I might have read it wrong. Maybe she was about to let me down gently. Or not gently. Maybe she was going to yell at me for bugging her. Or hex me. All those thoughts were banished from my mind, however, when she looked up at me and smiled.

"Of course I do."

At that, I started grinning so widely that my cheeks hurt.

"So will you be my girlfriend?" Del looked hesitant and I kicked myself yet again. I carried on in a rush. "I know Parker did something to you (which, by the way, I'm hoping you will tell me about so I can curse his arse off), and you want to stay away from boys and that category includes me, but I think you should give me a chance. Let yourself be happy! I won't do whatever Parker did, you know that."

She looked up at me again, staring into my eyes. With anyone else it would have been majorly creep but with Del it just felt right. The look in her eyes changed and for a moment I thought she just might believe me. I didn't have much time to ponder this, though, because she leaned forwards and was kissing me and I couldn't think about anything anymore.

**Sorry. I cannot write fluff. At all. But hey. So, review if you would like to! TTFN!**


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